Down to Earth: Kenyan Giraffe Conservation Project Shows Positive Results
The work of conservation scientist and Save Giraffes Now President David O’Connor is making headlines with NBC 7’s Dagmar Midcap who traveled to Kenya to help conservationists study giraffe.
In this video, NBC 7 covers the Twiga Tracker Project led by David that provides real-time tracking data to illuminate previously unanswered questions about giraffe movement. Satellite tracking systems are used with tracking software that generates color-coded heat maps providing information on giraffe topography and terrain.
The goal of this conservation project is to protect giraffe from ongoing human expansion. When a new road or pipeline is being built, for example, this research can allow scientists to provide developers and local government officials with hard data regarding how new development may impact giraffe habitat and thereby help prevent potential human-wildlife conflict.
NBC 7’s Dagmar highlights the urgency of conservation projects like this, as there are only ~100,000 giraffe left in the wild today, only one-fourth of the number of elephants.
