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.