Giraffes are 'becoming extinct' as global population plummets by 40 %

Leading conservationists have warned that giraffes are at risk of becoming extinct after numbers plummeted by 40 percent in thirty years.

It’s believed that the global population has declined to less than 100,000 in 2015 – a huge decrease from the 150,000 that roamed the world in the 1980s.

Conservationists say that illegal hunting, growing global population, loss of habitat, mining and human conflict are among the main reason for the huge decrease in numbers.

Now, the species has been placed on the latest global Red List of Threatened Species and has been classed as ‘vulnerable to extinction.’

Other creatures at heightened risk of extinction, according to the International Union of Conservation Action, include the African Grey Parrot – as a result of loss of habitat and becoming trapped for trade as they are sold as pets.

Describing the findings, IUCN director Inger Anderson said: ‘Many species are slipping away before we can even describe them.

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‘This IUCN Red List update shows that the scale of the global extinction crisis may be even greater than we thought.’

More than 85,000 species are currently registered on the red list – with more than a quarter classed as threatened with extinction or endangered.