Necks on the line: saving the West African giraffe

West African or Nigerian giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis peralta) look smart in the desert of southern Niger. The species has been a rare example of good news for endangered wildlife, with conservation efforts restoring their numbers from 50 in the late 1990s to around 200 today
Photograph: Shanna Baker/Getty

The species has in some ways become a victim of its own success, with its increasing numbers causing greater competition between individuals, leading some to roam further afield for food
Photograph: Jean-Patrick Suraud/GCF

Part of the conservation effort involves a law in Niger making killing a giraffe punishable by up to five years in jail
Photograph: Jean-Patrick Suraud/GCF

West African giraffes are under threat from poaching, drought and habitat loss, often caused by local people – such as these farmers – cutting wood, often illegally
Photograph: Jean-Patrick Suraud/CGF

A giraffe pauses on a road outside Niger's capital, Niamey. The giraffe’s roaming area is one of the most heavily populated in the country
Photograph: Finbarr O'Reilly/Corbis

Last week, eight giraffes were fitted with GPS tracking collars such as this, as part of a £25,000 research project funded by the British charity Giraffe Conservation Foundation
Photograph: JP Suraud/GCF

GCF researchers inject a West African giraffe. The collaring process requires that the animal be anaesthetised, but if its heart is slowed for more than half an hour, not enough blood will reach the brain, which can endanger the giraffe's life
Photograph: GCF

GCF researchers hold down a hooded giraffe prior to affixing the collar
Photograph: JP Suraud/GCF

The collars are camouflaged with giraffe markings. Julian Fennessy, a project team member, said: “This data will help us to understand the expanding population better and the extent of their range as they move into new frontiers. In turn, this will enable us to educate the local communities and help them to understand the importance of preserving the giraffe”
Photograph: JP Suraud/GCF

There are nine African sub-species of giraffe, including this baby Reticulated giraffe
Photograph: Corbis

An Oxpecker bird catches a ride on the neck of a Reticulated giraffe
Photograph: Joe McDonald/Corbis

Male Reticulated giraffes spar in Etosha National Park, Namibia
Photograph: Martin Harvey/Corbis

Two male Rothschild giraffes size each other up prior to a fight for dominance. Giraffes challenge their rivals by pressing necks, then butting heads – males can be identified by the worn fur on their horns
Photograph: Mark Alberhasky/Corbis

A Rothschild giraffe mugs for the camera
Photograph: Martin Harvey/Getty

Rothschild giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis rothschildi) are also known as Baringo giraffes (after the Lake Baringo area of Kenya) or Ugandan giraffes
Photograph: Jami Tarris/Getty

A Masai giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis tippelskirchi) chews on an acacia branch
Photograph: Tony Wharton/Corbis

A Masai giraffe forages alongside a herd of zebra in the Masai Mara reserve, Kenya
Photograph: Frans Lanting/Corbis

A Masai giraffe and its offspring
Photograph: Anup Shah/Getty

A Masai giraffe shows off its legs
Photograph: David Sanger/Getty

Angolan giraffes gather at a water hole in Botswana
Photograph: Winfred Wisniewski/Corbis

A Thornicroft's giraffe or Rhodesian giraffe at the Southern Luangwa National Park, Zambia
Photograph: Tom Brakefield/Corbis

A South African giraffe practices its footwork at Vutomi Dam in Kruger National Park, South Africa. Giraffes are prone to broken limbs caused by slipping on wet surfaces
Photograph: Kent Kobersteen/Getty

A herd of South African giraffes
Photograph: Corbis