Are Giraffes Endangered? Giraffe Conservation Status

The IUCN Red List lists the giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) as Vulnerable, last assessed on 9 July 2016, with a decreasing population trend. Two giraffe subspecies, the Kordofan and Nubian, are listed as Critically Endangered, and two, the reticulated and Masai, are listed as Endangered.

What the IUCN Red List Says About Giraffes

The IUCN Red List page for giraffe says the species “is listed as Vulnerable under criteria A2acd.” The category and criteria are given as Vulnerable A2acd (version 3.1), the date assessed is 09 July 2016, and the year published is 2018. The page lists the population trend as Decreasing and the number of mature individuals as 68,293. It also marks a continuing decline of mature individuals as Yes and the population as not severely fragmented.

The IUCN lists the habitat as forest, savanna, and shrubland, with a generation length of 10 years. Its range list names these countries as extant (resident): Angola, Botswana, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. It lists Eritrea, Guinea, Mauritania, Nigeria, and Senegal as extinct, Mali as possibly extinct, and Eswatini and Rwanda as extant and introduced.

The Giraffe Conservation Foundation (GCF) says that in 2016 giraffe were uplisted from Least Concern to Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. The page for the species was amended after the subspecies assessments were published, and the IUCN says its distribution map was updated to match.

IUCN Status of Each Giraffe Group

The Red List gives separate assessments for eight giraffe subspecies, listed in the table with the species as a whole. The IUCN gives the number of mature individuals for each group.

Where Each Giraffe Group Lives

The IUCN range lists give these countries for each subspecies.

Kordofan giraffe

The IUCN lists the Kordofan giraffe as extant (resident) in Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and South Sudan. It gives 71-80 as the percentage of the population protected by protected areas.

Nubian giraffe

The IUCN lists the Nubian giraffe as extant (resident) in Ethiopia and South Sudan, and as extinct in Eritrea and Sudan.

Reticulated giraffe

The IUCN lists the reticulated giraffe as extant (resident) in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia.

Masai giraffe

The IUCN lists the Masai giraffe as extant (resident) in Kenya and Tanzania, and as extant and introduced in Rwanda.

Rothschild’s giraffe

The IUCN lists Rothschild’s giraffe as extant (resident) in Kenya and Uganda, with presence uncertain in South Sudan. It gives 91-100 as the percentage of the population protected by protected areas.

Thornicroft’s giraffe

The IUCN lists Thornicroft’s giraffe as extant (resident) in Zambia, at 1 location. It gives 71-80 as the percentage of the population protected by protected areas.

West African giraffe

The IUCN lists the West African giraffe as extant (resident) in Niger, as extinct in Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali, Mauritania, and Senegal, and as extant and vagrant in Nigeria. It gives 0 as the percentage of the population protected by protected areas.

Angolan giraffe

The IUCN lists the Angolan giraffe as extant (resident) in Angola, Botswana, and the main part of Namibia, with presence uncertain in Zimbabwe, and as extant and introduced in the Caprivi Strip of Namibia and in South Africa.

Read more about subspecies of giraffes.

Read more about Omo, a rare white giraffe.

Four Giraffe Species and the Red List

The Red List page for giraffe lists one species with eight subspecies. GCF says that the IUCN SSC Giraffe and Okapi Specialist Group “has formally recognized four genetically distinct species of giraffe across Africa”, and that the next step is that “the IUCN will assess the conservation status of each species for the Red List.” The four species GCF names are the Masai, northern, reticulated, and southern giraffe.

GCF also says that preliminary findings suggest three of the four species may qualify as threatened. GCF says that with the release of State of Giraffe 2025 there is “a strong case for listing three of the four species as Endangered or Vulnerable.”

Giraffe Numbers From GCF

In GCF’s list, Giraffa camelopardalis is the northern giraffe. GCF counts giraffe in a different way from the IUCN. GCF’s giraffe species page puts the combined total at approximately 140,000 giraffe remaining in the wild. For every three elephant, only one giraffe remains in the wild in Africa, GCF says. Read more about the Great Elephant Census.

GCF says three of the four species show positive population trends. It describes the northern giraffe as “one of the world’s most threatened large mammals” with a nearly 20% increase, the reticulated giraffe as one that “appears to be increasing”, the southern giraffe as showing “the most remarkable growth” with a 50% increase in five years, and the Masai giraffe as having stable numbers in Kenya.

Threats to Giraffes

What the IUCN Lists

For the species as a whole, the IUCN threat list names agriculture and aquaculture (annual and perennial non-timber crops, and livestock farming and ranching), biological resource use (hunting and trapping terrestrial animals), and human intrusions and disturbance (war, civil unrest, and military exercises). Its use and trade section lists sport hunting and specimen collecting as national and international use and not local, and lists food for people as local use.

The subspecies lists differ. The IUCN lists oil and gas drilling for the Kordofan giraffe, housing and urban areas for the West African giraffe, logging and wood harvesting, fire and fire suppression, and droughts under climate change and severe weather for the Angolan giraffe, dams and water management for Thornicroft’s giraffe, and diseases of unknown cause for Rothschild’s giraffe. Hunting and trapping terrestrial animals is on the list for all eight.

Habitat and Poaching

GCF says giraffe numbers over the past 35 years have decreased by nearly 30 percent, that in regions once considered prime habitat their numbers have dropped by up to 95 percent, and that giraffe have lost nearly 90 percent of their historical range over the last three centuries. GCF answers why giraffe are threatened with “Because they're losing the space they need to live.”

The Animal Diversity Web says “Giraffes are hunted and poached for their skin, meat, and tail.”

Conservation Work

The IUCN species page lists a harvest management plan as Yes, conservation sites identified over the entire range, and at least one protected area where giraffe occur. It lists successful reintroduction or benign introduction as Yes. Recovery plans are listed as Yes for the reticulated, Masai, Rothschild’s, and West African giraffe.

The Giraffe Conservation Foundation says it operates in 21 African countries and that 14 countries have adopted National or Regional Giraffe Conservation Strategies. Its update list includes a translocation of 14 Angolan giraffe to Iona National Park in Angola, a restoration initiative for Angolan giraffe in Bicuar National Park, and Operation Sahel Giraffe II, a translocation in Niger for West African giraffe. GCF describes its Twiga Tracker initiative as the largest GPS satellite tracking study of giraffe ever.

How You Can Help

GCF’s home page offers donating to GCF and adopting a giraffe. The store has a collection of rescue shirts. Read more about animal rescue vacations.

FAQ

Are giraffes dangerous?

Giraffes can defend themselves with their front hooves. The Animal Diversity Web says adult giraffes are “well able to defend themselves” and are capable of “delivering deadly blows with their front hooves.” It names lions, leopards, and hyenas as known predators of giraffes.

Are giraffes endangered in South Africa?

No. The IUCN category for giraffe as a species is Vulnerable, and its range list names South Africa as extant (resident). The IUCN lists the Angolan giraffe as Least Concern and names South Africa as a place where it is extant and introduced.

Are giraffes going extinct?

Giraffe are extinct in some countries. The IUCN lists giraffe as extinct in Eritrea, Guinea, Mauritania, Nigeria, and Senegal, and as possibly extinct in Mali, and gives the species population trend as Decreasing. GCF notes that the decline was called a “Silent Extinction” by Sir David Attenborough in the BBC documentary “Giraffe: Africa’s Gentle Giants.”

Are reticulated giraffes endangered?

Yes. The IUCN lists the reticulated giraffe as Endangered, and the table above gives its criteria, date assessed, trend, and mature individuals.

Sources

• IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, Giraffa camelopardalis (Giraffe), version 2026-1, accessed 13 October 2026
• IUCN Red List, Giraffa camelopardalis ssp. antiquorum (Kordofan Giraffe), accessed 13 October 2026
• IUCN Red List, Giraffa camelopardalis ssp. camelopardalis (Nubian Giraffe), accessed 13 October 2026
• IUCN Red List, Giraffa camelopardalis ssp. reticulata (Reticulated Giraffe), accessed 13 October 2026
• IUCN Red List, Giraffa camelopardalis ssp. tippelskirchi (Masai Giraffe), accessed 13 October 2026
• IUCN Red List, Giraffa camelopardalis ssp. rothschildi (Rothschild’s Giraffe), accessed 13 October 2026
• IUCN Red List, Giraffa camelopardalis ssp. thornicrofti (Thornicroft’s Giraffe), accessed 13 October 2026
• IUCN Red List, Giraffa camelopardalis ssp. peralta (West African Giraffe), accessed 13 October 2026
• IUCN Red List, Giraffa camelopardalis ssp. angolensis (Angolan Giraffe), accessed 13 October 2026
• Giraffe Conservation Foundation, State of Giraffe 2025, accessed 13 October 2026
• Giraffe Conservation Foundation, Not all giraffe are the same, accessed 13 October 2026
• Giraffe Conservation Foundation, 4 giraffe species recognized in historic IUCN decision, accessed 13 October 2026
• Giraffe Conservation Foundation, Home page, accessed 13 October 2026
• University of Michigan Museum of Zoology, Animal Diversity Web: Giraffa camelopardalis (Maisano, S. 2006), accessed 13 October 2026