The number of giraffes has dropped by as much as 40 percent since the 1980s, says a new report on endangered species. The Red List is a study of threatened species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The group now considers the giraffe “vulnerable” to extinction for the first time. Earlier, it had a rating of “least concern.” The giraffe is the tallest animal on land. These beautiful creatures are one of the best-known species in Africa. They are known for their very long necks, long legs and the brown and white patterns that cover their bodies. Craig Hilton-Taylor is head of the Red List program. He says in 1985, there were between 152,000 and 163,000 giraffes. But now, he tells VOA, their numbers have fallen to about 98,000. “It is a huge tragedy and it’s been sort of a silent disappearance that we just really hadn’t detected until now.” Fifty years ago, groups of giraffes usually had 20 to 30 animals in them. Now, observers are only seeing six animals in a group, called a herd. The Red List experts have been gathering information about giraffes over the last five years. They counted the animals from airplanes, land vehicles and on foot. They say that until now the disappearance of the animals had not been observed closely. One reason could be because giraffes live in a wide area across Africa. What is causing this decrease? Hilton-Taylor says: humans.
Title: Giraffes Facing ‘Silent Disappearance’ in Africa, Report Says
Content: <div id='article-page'><div id='article-content' data-media-url='//news-app-staging.s3.amazonaws.com' data-base-url='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1572/giraffes.m4a' data-capture-url='//staging.analytics.lingraphica.com/events/capture_news' data-article-title='Giraffes Facing Silent Disappearance in Africa, Report Says' data-article-id='2088'><script src='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com/javascripts/getscripts.js'></script><link rel='stylesheet' href='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com/stylesheets/article.css' type='text/css' /><div class='article'><p><span data-start-time='0' data-end-time='13875'>The number of giraffes has dropped by as much as 40 percent since the 1980s, says a new report on endangered species.</span> <span data-start-time='13875' data-end-time='23125'>The Red List is a study of threatened species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.</span> <span data-start-time='23125' data-end-time='32042'>The group now considers the giraffe “vulnerable” to extinction for the first time.</span> <span data-start-time='32042' data-end-time='37146'>Earlier, it had a rating of “least concern.”</span> <span data-start-time='37146' data-end-time='42208'>The giraffe is the tallest animal on land.</span> <span data-start-time='42208' data-end-time='49188'>These beautiful creatures are one of the best-known species in Africa.</span> <span data-start-time='49188' data-end-time='58854'>They are known for their very long necks, long legs and the brown and white patterns that cover their bodies.</span> <span data-start-time='58854' data-end-time='64417'>Craig Hilton-Taylor is head of the Red List program.</span> <span data-start-time='64417' data-end-time='77167'>He says in 1985, there were between 152,000 and 163,000 giraffes.</span> <span data-start-time='77167' data-end-time='85979'>But now, he tells VOA, their numbers have fallen to about 98,000.</span> <span data-start-time='85979' data-end-time='92792'>“It is a huge tragedy and it’s been sort of a silent disappearance that we just really hadn’t detected until now.”</span> <span data-start-time='92792' data-end-time='100479'>Fifty years ago, groups of giraffes usually had 20 to 30 animals in them.</span> <span data-start-time='100479' data-end-time='108417'>Now, observers are only seeing six animals in a group, called a herd.</span> <span data-start-time='108417' data-end-time='116542'>The Red List experts have been gathering information about giraffes over the last five years.</span> <span data-start-time='116542' data-end-time='123333'>They counted the animals from airplanes, land vehicles and on foot.</span> <span data-start-time='123333' data-end-time='131250'>They say that until now the disappearance of the animals had not been observed closely. </span> <span data-start-time='131250' data-end-time='139500'>One reason could be because giraffes live in a wide area across Africa.</span> <span data-start-time='139500' data-end-time='142875'>What is causing this decrease?</span> <span data-start-time='142875' data-end-time='146854'>Hilton-Taylor says: humans.</span> </p></div><div class='control-buttons-sticky' style='display:none;'><div class='control-buttons'><button title='Back' class='back' disabled='disabled'></button><button title='Play' class='play' disabled='disabled'></button><button title='Pause' class='pause' style='display:none;'></button><button title='Forward' class='forward' disabled='disabled'></button><button class='finished-reading' style='display:none;'>Done</button></div></div></div><div id='article-media'><div id='media-image'><img src='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1572/giraffes.jpg'/></div></div><div id='question-content' style='display:none;'><div class='vocabulary_question question-container' data-question-id=7774 data-hint-location='23125' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1572/what_does_vulnerable_mean.m4a'>What does vulnerable mean?</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='open to attack, harm, or damage'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1572/counted.m4a'><span>counted</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1572/open_to_attack_harm_or_damage.m4a'><span>open to attack, harm, or damage</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1572/extinct.m4a'><span>extinct</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1572/observed.m4a'><span>observed</span></div></div></div><div class='multiple_choice_question question-container' data-question-id=7775 data-hint-location='100479' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1572/what_is_a_group_of_giraffes_called.m4a'>What is a group of giraffes called?</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='a herd'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1572/a_herd.m4a'><span>a herd</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1572/a_school.m4a'><span>a school</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1572/a_group.m4a'><span>a group</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1572/a_flock.m4a'><span>a flock</span></div></div></div><div class='sentence_completion_question question-container' data-question-id=7776 data-hint-location='37146' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1572/the_giraffe_is_the__blank__animal_on_land.m4a'>The giraffe is the <span class='blank'>tallest</span> animal on land.</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='tallest'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1572/shortest.m4a'><span>shortest</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1572/largest_.m4a'><span>largest </span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1572/rarest.m4a'><span>rarest</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1572/tallest.m4a'><span>tallest</span></div></div></div><div class='question-buttons'><button class='skip-button'></button><button class='hint-button'></button><button class='speak-button'></button></div></div></div>
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