Science: the giraffe moves with the ark to land

The Northern Rangelands Trust (NRT) announced Monday that the last two Rothschild giraffes, “NKarikoni” and their little calf, “Noella”, were brought to the mainland by boat from Longicharo Island at Lake Baringo.

Giraffes were reportedly only transported to the island in 2011 in order to rebuild the population there. The animals were once home on the island, it was said. However, the water level there has now increased so much that the island is getting smaller and smaller and the giraffes no longer have enough to eat.

So the rescue began at the beginning of December: one giraffe after another was brought to a reserve of about 18 square kilometers on a specially made boat. With the help of the mangoes, giraffes were drawn into the boat. In the new preserve of the Ruko Community Conservancy, animals of now rare subspecies must settle and reproduce, animal rights activists have declared.

Scientists are currently debating why the water levels have risen in Lake Baringo, as well as in other lakes in Kenya. On the one hand, this may be due to geological changes in the depth of the earth. In addition, increased upstream deforestation may lead to more sediments in the lakes.

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