WAJIR—Habaswein town will tomorrow play host to the annual World Giraffe Day. The day is marked on June 21 every year.
The Cabinet Secretary for the Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Heritage Peninah Malonza, two Principle Secretaries, the deputy governor of Wajir Ahmed Muhumed, the area legislator Mohamed Adow as well as high ranking Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) rangers are set to join the conservationists to celebrate the day.
Speaking to Kulan Post, Sharmake Mohamed, the chairman of Sabuli Wildlife Conservancy stated that they will use the event to create awareness amid unprecedented surge in commercial poaching in Wajir County.
“We are are celebrating the day with the people of Wajir County at Habaswein at the backdrop of surge in commercialised poaching, and the area happens to be epicentre of the Somali giraffes in the world,” Sharmarke said.
Wajir County hosts approximately 6,000 endangered reticulated giraffes – the largest pool of the sub-species. The reticulated giraffes, also known as the Somali giraffes, are commonly found in the Horn of Africa region where the Somali community mostly reside such us Somalia, Southern Ethiopia and Northestern Kenya.
In the last 35 years, the number of reticulated giraffes, which today live almost exclusively in northern Kenya, has dropped from 36,000 to fewer than 16,000—a 56 percent decline.
The species was classified as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature in 2018.
The giraffes have died in huge numbers, largely due to decades of tribal conflicts over land and resources, violence by the Somalia-based armed group al-Shabaab, and, perhaps from climate change, which has accelerated habitat loss and increased poaching in the region.
“By marking the World Giraffe Day in the county, we will use the event to highlight the plight of the endangered reticulated giraffes,” Sharmarke, who is also the chairman of the Northeastern Conservationist Association, noted. He added that “passionate Conservationists from different parts of the country will also attend the event, a first of its kind to be held in the region.
