Fewer than 20,000 reticulated giraffes (Giraffa reticulata) are estimated to remain in the wild, roughly a 56% population decline over the last 30 years, according to the IUCN, the global wildlife conservation authority.<\/p>\n
The research team worked in the Bour-Algy Giraffe Sanctuary, which was created along the Tana River in northeastern Kenya to protect the local population of reticulated giraffes. The sanctuary was created by volunteers from Bour-Algy village in 1995, but before this study there was little formal understanding of how local people felt about the giraffes and what impact giraffes had on their lives.<\/p>\n
The researchers conducted 400 interviews with households around the sanctuary. Their goal was to learn about local attitudes toward giraffes \u2014 whether people perceived them as a risk, what caused conflicts with giraffes and determine local strategies for coexistence.<\/p>\n
The team found that there was a relatively high tolerance for giraffes in the community. \u201cMost respondents viewed giraffes as\u00a0low-risk and over half reported no damage to land or property,\u201d Abdullahi Ali, first author of the study, told Mongabay in an email.\u00a0\u201cImportantly, the concerns raised were largely indirect, particularly\u00a0competition for water, habitat encroachment, and broader livelihood\u00a0pressures, rather than giraffes themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ali said negative perceptions of giraffes were largely limited to farmers who occasionally lose crops to the animals. \u201cIn contrast,\u201d Ali noted\u00a0\u201cindividuals engaged in other socio-economic activities such as\u00a0pastoralism, trade, or government employment tend to have no issues with\u00a0giraffes.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added that the findings highlight the need for community-based coexistence strategies. \u201cKey priorities include improving awareness, reducing competition over critical resources such as water and supporting locally relevant livelihood initiatives.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ali is also part of the Somali Giraffe Project, a conservation group in the same area. Ali said the group is working to address the main sources of human-giraffe conflict.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Somali Giraffe Project\u00a0is addressing water scarcity by providing\u00a0alternative water sources for giraffes and other wildlife, helping to\u00a0reduce pressure on shared resources like the Tana River,\u201d Ali said. \u201cThe project has established the region\u2019s first\u00a0wildlife education center, where schoolchildren, farmers, youth and\u00a0elders are educated about giraffe conservation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Monica Bond, a giraffe biologist in neighboring Tanzania, who wasn\u2019t involved with the study, said the findings provide \u201ca useful model for how to quantify conflicts and risks, and to understand what people require to live safely and peacefully with giraffes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Banner image: A reticulated giraffe in a national park in Kenya. Image by Stolz Gary M, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service via Wikimedia Commons<\/a> (Public domain). <\/p>\n ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1776503303_468_a5d6d52d085b07261a3805ebafd898a2b9f15ed2fdb47495c07eb2dae924b0ab.png\")
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