As the population of giraffes has shrunken by as much as 40 per cent since the 1980s, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) recently put the animal on the “vulnerable to extinction” list of species for the first time.

Giraffes, the tallest animal on Earth, are among the best-known species in Africa. They are known for their extraordinarily long necks, legs as well as the brown and white patterns on their bodies.

The researchers said there were 152,000 to 163,000 giraffes in 1985. But now, their number has slipped to just around 98,000.

Craig Hilton-Taylor, the chief of the IUCN’s Red List program, called the trend of giraffes’ silent disappearance a “huge tragedy.”

Speaking on the issue, Hilton-Taylor said, “It is a huge tragedy and it’s been sort of a silent disappearance that we just really hadn’t detected until now. The reasons are all due to the impact of people, whether it’s people causing loss of habitat for the species, hunting of the species for food or harvesting for medicine, medicinal purposes, or for timber.”

Pollution and the adverse effects of climate change are also adding to the problems affecting the species; while factors like civil wars and unrest in Africa are increasingly making it more difficult for wildlife officials and advocates to protect the species.