STEM Current Event – Endangered Giraffes

Planet Earth as we know it is changing before our eyes, in more ways than one. Socially and technologically, international relationships are being rocked, and technology is exploding at an unprecedented rate. However, in addition to these facets, one of the biggest areas of change is found in the environment. Climate change has been argued more than it ever has been in these past few months, and for good reasons. And while climate change is a topic of utmost importance, there are other environmental concerns that have appeared to take the back seat to it; one such example is endangered species.

Very recently, giraffes have joined the ever-increasing endangered species list, coming as a shock to many. The Smithsonian published an article talking about how these long-necked creatures are now sadly part of this list. According to the Smithsonian, the giraffe population has fallen by 40 percent since 1985, leaving just about 97,000 giraffes left in the wild. As a way to bring this issue to the media and governments of the world, several conservation and environmental groups came together to petition to add giraffes onto the United States’ Endangered Species Act. In addition to this, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are reviewing the giraffe’s status level. If giraffes are added onto the act, it would start a crackdown on giraffe parts that are being imported into the United States and would offer help to reduce illegal hunting in several African countries. (Article used: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/us-may-list-giraffes-endangered-species-180972057/)

However, there is room for some potential bias in this argument. While it was argued in the article that giraffes should be saved from being killed, there is an argument for how trophy hunters can actually protect more giraffes in the long run, with their trophy hunting fees being put back into stopping illegal hunting, and also driving down the market for giraffe parts. However, this article is arguing that despite the biased nature that it is a good cause to help protect these creatures.

This is a very important event in a way that has the potential to impact the Earth permanently in the future. If action is not taken now to ensure giraffes are not moved any closer to extinction then they are right now, giraffes might soon face the end that many other extinct animals have faced. Without giraffes, the world loses an environmental and societal icon. Children will have to read about giraffes in books and watch them in videos, without ever being able to see them in real life ever again. If we as humans have the power to run a species into extinction, shouldn’t we use that power to preserve and protect these inspiring creatures? If we let ourselves eradicate these one of a kind animals just for the sport of killing, I would say that it spells out a rather ominous future for not only animals, but the human race as a whole.

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