The Status of Giraffe in South Africa: The Importance of Private Land for Conservation

Abstract

Giraffe (Giraffa spp.) populations are naturally distributed across 21 African countries but have declined by approximately 30% over three and a half decades, from 150 000 to 117 000 individuals, due to a variety of anthropogenic threats. Of the four species of giraffe, the southern giraffe (Giraffa giraffa) has the largest known population with the highest abundance found in the range state of South Africa. A population assessment in 2019 estimated 21 053–26 919 individuals. However, these estimates were extrapolated from a small data set and lacked data from private properties in the Eastern and Western Cape, Free State and KwaZulu-Natal. To provide updated abundance estimates and range for southern giraffe in South Africa, we conducted a country-wide population survey using multiple data sources and methods, including online questionnaires, reviews of peer-reviewed and grey literature, in situ property owner interviews, citizen science sightings, and data requests from provincial authorities. Our database included records from all nine provinces, covering 86 public and 913 private lands, and resulted in an estimate of 29 536 (likely range = 21 744–39 859) southern giraffe in South Africa. Limpopo and the Eastern Cape reported the highest abundance. Kruger National Park hosted the largest public population with 12 412 (range = 10 345–14 554) southern giraffe. Private land, which previously was not sufficiently counted, accounted for 49.4% of the total estimate. Importantly, we consider our updated southern giraffe estimate conservative as not all stakeholders were willing to contribute. Additionally, the potential impact of hybridization between the two subspecies of the southern giraffe requires further research to accurately assess their status in South Africa. Despite this restriction, our revised population estimate and distribution for southern giraffe will contribute to improved conservation efforts in South Africa.