Giraffes in Niger, West Africa, are being fitted with GPS collars in order to help conserve their numbers.

The West African giraffes are under threat from poachers and loss of habitat, despite a conservation effort that has seen their numbers rise from a mere 50 in the late 1990s to approximately 200 today. They now need further protection as they begin to move in wider areas in search of food and water.

The research project, funded by the British Giraffe Conservation Foundation, successfully fitted 8 collars last week. Fitting the collars is a tricky business as the giraffes need to be anaesthetised, however if they remain in this state beyond half an hour, their long necks make it difficult for enough blood to reach their brain and they could die.

The camouflaged GPS collar, which goes around the giraffe’s neck like a harness, will enable scientists to download data about the giraffes’ whereabouts on a daily basis. They will then be able to learn about the giraffes’ habitat and educate local people about the importance of conserving the giraffe population.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 16th, 2010 at 12:33 pm and is filed under Conservation, Safari, Wild. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.