Thread by @natgeowild

Photo by @Amivee // Did you know that a giraffe's spots are as unique as our fingerprints? No two giraffes have the same pattern, and researchers use the different patterns to tell them apart. 1/7

Those spots are not just for camouflage either, they help them regulate their body temperatures. Beneath each patch is a network of blood vessels and sweat glands to dissipate heat. 2/7

This young West African giraffe is browsing outside of Doulouwal Peulh, Niger - a village about 50 miles outside of the capital of Niamey where people live side by side with the endangered West African giraffe in the country's government-defined Giraffe Zone. 3/7

At one point, the range of West African giraffes stretched across the Sahel, from Nigeria to Senegal. Illegal hunting, climate change and habitat loss all contributed to the population's decline, and by the mid-90s, only 49 remained in this zone. 4/7

Today, while still highly threatened, thanks to conservation efforts, West African giraffes number over 600. In December 2018, in order to help the long-term survival prospects of this subspecies, 5/7

the Nigerien government with help from a team from the Giraffe Conservation Foundation (@Save_Giraffe) and Sahara Conservation Fund worked together to translocate eight giraffes from the Giraffe Zone to the Niger's Gadabedji Biosphere Reserve. 6/7

The idea was to create a satellite population to help their survival.
Learn more, including how to get involved by following @Save_Giraffe and @Amivee.
#SaharaConservationFund #protectgiraffes #giraffe #savegiraffes #niger #didyouknow 7/7