Julian Fennessy

Armed conflicts can severely disrupt wildlife conservation and management, yet their long-term genomic consequences remain poorly understood. South Sudan has experienced decades of conflict that have limited conservation efforts and prevented genomic assessment of its fauna, including the endangered subspecies of Nubian giraffe ( Giraffa camelopardalis camelopardalis ). Due to long-standing logistical and political challenges, populations from South Sudan have remained largely unsampled. The Nubian giraffe represents a critical conservation unit and new sampling efforts provide an opportunity to investigate its genomic diversity and potential genetic isolation by the White Nile River, a hypothesized gene flow barrier. Here, we present genomic data from 30 individuals sampled in Boma and Badingilo National Parks in eastern South Sudan. Adding these sequences to existing genomic data reveals genetically distinct groups within the Nubian giraffe according to three regions: Ethiopia-South Sudan, Kenya, Uganda. Despite limited wildlife management due to economic and political constraints in South Sudan, the Nubian giraffe populations have maintained high heterozygosity (He ≈ 0.14%) and minimal evidence of inbreeding (mean F _ROH ≈ 0.15) compared to Kenya’s Nubian giraffe populations. Contrary to expectations, our results reveal measurable gene flow across the White Nile between Nubian giraffe and Kordofan giraffe ( G. c. antiquorum ). These findings highlight South Sudanese Nubian giraffe as a population that retained genetic diversity and conservation efforts should be enhanced where feasible to ensure this stronghold long-term.

Context: As the savannah landscapes of East Africa change due to increasing anthropogenic disturbance and shifting climate patterns, identifying critical habitat and predicting movement pathways for threatened wildlife species is imperative. The diverse communities of wildlife and people in this region rely heavily on contiguous stretches of rangeland ecosystem to access spatiotemporally dynamic resources. Objectives: We investigated reticulated giraffe ( Giraffa reticulata) space use between seasons and how this may influence connectivity. We visualized barriers to giraffe movement and critical pathways for giraffe to access resources in disparate habitats. Methods: We analyzed satellite tracking data of endangered reticulated giraffe collected from 2017 to 2020 across Laikipia County in northern Kenya with multi-scale seasonal integrated step-selection function (iSSF) models. We produced Omniscape connectivity models to determine reticulated giraffe movements in relation to habitat features and evaluate seasonal impacts of resource availability on their space use. Results: We found that reticulated giraffe displayed more significant preference for certain habitat cover in wet seasons and a more generalized preference in dry seasons. Overall, reticulated giraffe preferred to move across habitat with rangeland browse species (e.g., Vachellia/Senegalia spp.; herbaceous shrubs), moderate vegetation cover, and water features. Giraffe movement was largely in closer proximity to roadways. Conclusions: Our findings contribute to the limited available knowledge of reticulated giraffe habitat preference, seasonality of movement and connectivity, providing useful insight to guide protected area management, conservation translocations, and spatial planning. Similar pressures to rangeland ecosystems beyond northern Kenya reflect the need for enhanced research and management consideration outside the bounds of conservancy and country borders.

Illegal trade of wild meat pose a severe threat to the survival of wildlife populations. The decline in the number of some species has been directly linked to these illegal activities. Poachers and traders of illegal wild meat products often mask them as livestock meat to sell to consumers who may or may not be complicit. However, new technologies can more accurately identify the genetic makeup of confiscated wild meat and meat sold in markets. Random meat sampling and molecular analysis are routinely used in detecting wild meat, leading to identifying illegal trade hotspots. Here, we documented incidences of wild meat prevalence in butcheries in Kenya through random sampling and compared the proportion of meat that tested positive with wild meat exhibits confiscated by officers in conservation management areas (CA) over a two‐year period that corresponded with the sampling period. As such, we sought to map illegal trade hotspots within five CA to guide management and policies. 241 meat samples from market surveys conducted between 2020–2021 were sequenced for species identification using standard mammalian barcoding whereas 112 samples obtained from confiscations over the same period were analyzed using the same method for comparison. In total, over a seven‐year period (2015–2021), 567 samples were confiscated by law enforcement officers. Out of the 241 meat samples that were purchased, 13 tested positive for wild meat. Overall, market sampling underestimated incidences of wild meat trade. However, the combined dataset identified Southern, Central Rift and Tsavo CA as dominant hotspots in both volume and species richness for illegal wild meat trade. Our study emphasizes the importance of countrywide and enhanced monitoring of threatened species, as well as strengthened coordination between local intelligence gathering and field operations to protect biodiversity, determine trade routes and transit hubs, and refine the effectiveness of policy.

Giraffe ( Giraffa ) species are ecologically and culturally significant large mammals distributed across Africa. Yet, their conservation has historically been hindered by limited species-specific research and under-recognition of population declines. The recent taxonomic revision of the genus into four distinct species ( Giraffa camelopardalis , G. giraffa , G. reticulata , and G. tippelskirchi ) has amplified the need for disaggregated ecological knowledge to guide effective conservation. We conducted a systematic review of peer-reviewed literature published 1947–2024 to assess taxonomic, geographic, and thematic trends in Giraffa spp. research. From 817 publications, we found strong geographical and taxonomic bias. In situ studies disproportionately focused on G. giraffa and G. tippelskirchi , while G. camelopardalis and G. reticulata were under-represented. Research was geographically concentrated in Kenya, South Africa, and Tanzania, likely reflecting accessibility and research infrastructure. Thematically, behavioural, population, and foraging studies dominated, while physiology, genetics, and demography were under-represented, despite their importance for understanding adaptation and resilience. We identify critical knowledge gaps and provide strategic recommendations to rebalance research, including increased focus on under-represented species, expanded geographic coverage, and improved integration of in situ and ex situ data. Addressing these gaps is essential for advancing evidence-based Giraffa spp. conservation in the face of accelerating environmental change.

Understanding and managing the spatial distribution, movements, and human associations of giraffe (Giraffa spp.) is critical for their long-term conservation across Africa. The Giraffe Conservation Foundation (GCF) and its partners have developed and implemented innovative approaches to track, monitor, and report on giraffe ecology and management across multiple spatial scales—from individual properties to continent-wide landscapes.Over the past two decades, GCF has compiled one of the most comprehensive datasets on giraffe population trends, distributions, movements, and genetics. These data underpin evidence-based conservation and management decisions across Africa and contribute directly to international policy frameworks, including the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), and the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS).A central focus of GCF’s work is translating ecological and movement data into actionable conservation insights and policy guidance at local, national, regional, and international levels. This includes trait-based analysis of movement across Africa to identify drivers of movement behaviour, and quantifying functional connectivity within key transboundary landscapes such as Southern Kenya - Northern Tanzania (SOKNOT) and Kavango Zambezi.Through scalable workflows for data collection, processing, and dissemination, GCF provides a model for how large, complex biodiversity datasets can inform adaptive management and policy processes. Yet, despite their value, large organizational datasets—such as those on species numbers, movements, and genetics—remain underutilized in national and international environmental monitoring and reporting processes, including National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plans (NBSAPs). Giraffe exemplifies how such datasets can be effectively mobilized and integrated across scales through collaborative, transparent, and interoperable data systems.Emerging initiatives such as the Biodiversity Observation Network for Animal Movement (MoveBON) present new opportunities to enhance data accessibility and coordination across institutions and governance levels. Leveraging these frameworks can substantially strengthen the inclusion of movement ecology in biodiversity monitoring and decision-making.GCF’s vision is to promote the systematic integration of large-scale conservation and movement data into global biodiversity observation, monitoring, and reporting systems—thereby improving conservation outcomes for giraffe and other wide-ranging species across Africa and beyond.

Giraffe (Giraffa spp.) increasingly inhabit fragmented, human-dominated landscapes, accelerating the need for high-resolution, reliable movement data to understand how their movement ecology responds to anthropogenic disturbances. This review provides a critical update to the synthesis of giraffe-tracking technology by evaluating the performance of 408 newly designed or upgraded tracking units deployed in nine African countries between 2024 and 2025. We assessed the evolution of hardware across multiple platforms, including Iridium, GlobalStar, LoRaWAN, and Sigfox networks. For each unit, we quantified fix success, data continuity, and battery performance, and assessed the influence of vegetation cover through regression analysis. A recently developed Iridium tail-mounted unit is emerging as the most reliable unit for giraffe, achieving a mean fix success rate of 0.96 based on one year of field data and 108 deployed units (deployments ongoing). Our findings indicate that, regardless of unit placement (tail or ear) or satellite communication system (Iridium or GlobalStar), units that spent more time in denser vegetation generally showed poorer performance in both fix rate and battery rate, suggesting difficulties with both clear-sky for communication and solar exposure for charging. This underscores the importance of aligning programmed fix schedules with local environmental variables. We conclude that the tail-mounted unit currently offers the best balance of longevity and data quality for long-term giraffe monitoring and conservation management, but it is the most expensive. It is essential to align the right unit for the right needs, including fitment, costs, data requirements, and environmental features.

In the past decade, giraffe (Giraffa spp.) conservation has received increased attention in part due to updated IUCN Red List assessments that highlighted the urgency of the plight of giraffe. The most recent assessments showed that giraffe populations in East Africa, encompassing three of the four extant species, had undergone precipitous declines in the preceding 35 years, with anthropogenic activities identified as the leading cause. As such, urgent conservation efforts were required to address the threats that Masai (Giraffa tippelskirchi ), Nubian (G. c. camelopardalis), and reticulated (G. reticulata) giraffe face in the East African region. Driven by the Giraffe Conservation Foundation (GCF) all East African countries have drafted, launched and initiated the implementation of their first-ever national giraffe conservation strategies with the involvement and participation of diverse stakeholders ranging from NGOs, academia, governments, and communities. These important conservation tools have proven invaluable in the fight against the giraffe's silent extinction. We demonstrate that multidisciplinary conservation research, collaborative partnerships, capacity building, and knowledge exchange have led to better understanding of the ecology and improved conservation outcomes. This is particularly important as giraffe populations and the threats they face have not traditionally received conservation attention compared to other charismatic megafauna. We present the opportunities and challenges in giraffe conservation in a region where a large portion of the wild population occur in human-dominated landscapes. Our conservation research showcases the importance of involving all stakeholders in securing a future for giraffe in Africa.

Giraffe (Giraffa spp.) populations in Kenya face significant conservation challenges, most of which are human-induced – loss of habitat, habitat fragmentation, poaching, and climate change. The Nubian giraffe (G. camelopardalis camelopardalis) has over the years lost much of its historical range and is currently restricted to relatively small and isolated populations in Ethiopia, Kenya, South Sudan, and Uganda. This northern giraffe subspecies is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List. Here we summarize an assessment of historical and current population numbers, trends, and distribution of Nubian giraffe in Kenya. We reviewed published peer-reviewed research, wildlife authority records, and grey literature. Additionally, we interviewed landowners who manage Nubian giraffe populations on their land, as well as carried out systematic photographic surveys in two national parks and a reserve. Our findings reveal that after plummeting to an estimated 130 individuals in the wild in Kenya and facing near-extinction in the mid-1970s, the Nubian giraffe population has recovered significantly, reaching approximately 1042 individuals distributed across 14 populations in Kenya. This conservation success is credited to focused management strategies, notably conservation translocations and enhanced population monitoring efforts. These findings and ongoing efforts are crucial for guiding targeted conservation strategies aimed at preserving key giraffe habitats and mitigating human-induced threats. By sharing these findings, we aim to facilitate informed discussions and collaborative efforts towards securing a sustainable future for Kenya's Nubian giraffe populations.