Until recently, experts were raising alarm. Giraffe populations in Africa had shrunk by almost a quarter in 40 years. Now, however, the Giraffe Conservation Foundation (GCF) can breathe a little easier.
The populations of three of the four giraffe species had increased, while the population of one species had stabilised. The GCF announced this in its 'State of Giraffe' report 2025 on the occasion of World Giraffe Day.
According to the report, the Southern giraffe (Giraffa giraffa), which is found in Namibia and other countries in southern Africa, is doing best. Since the last estimate in 2020, the number of individuals has risen to more than 68,800. According to the GCF, this is an increase of around 50 per cent.
However, the enormous increase is not only due to natural reproduction. The GCF largely attributes it to improved monitoring and increased awareness.
The same applies to the numbers of individuals of other giraffe species. The population of the Northern giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) in North and Central Africa has increased by 20 per cent to over 7,000 individuals.
The GCF noted a slight increase to 20,900 individuals for the Reticulated giraffe (Giraffa reticulata) in north-eastern Kenya. The population of the Masai giraffe (Giraffa tippelskirchi) in Zambia, Tanzania and Kenya had remained stable at almost 44,000 specimens.
In the 'State of Giraffe' report 2025 on its website, the GCF breaks down the populations by subspecies. The aim is also to emphasise that some subspecies are endangered.
Based on genetic analyses, the GCF is talking about four species and seven subspecies of giraffe. In the case of the southern giraffe, it distinguishes between the Angolan giraffe (Giraffa giraffa angolensis; around 15,660 specimens) and the South African giraffe (Giraffa giraffa giraffa; a good 53,170 individuals).
In Namibia there are almost exclusively Angolan giraffes. They are protected by several national parks, private nature reserves, game farms and communal conservation areas. A special feature are the desert-adapted giraffes in the Riviere (dry river courses) in the arid north-west of Namibia.
Recent positive developments cannot hide the fact that giraffes in Africa have been drastically decimated over centuries. According to the GCF, it has lost almost 90 per cent of its range since 1700. While there were still around 155,000 giraffes in 1980, by 2020 there were only around 117,000 left. This represents a decline of 24 per cent.
The data situation also leaves much to be desired. The GCF therefore wants to further improve monitoring. In its 'State of Giraffe' report, it announced the launch of a centralised platform called the 'Giraffe Africa Database' (GAD).
Sven-Eric Stender