Five giraffe successfully collared in Garamba

The Congo giraffe, Giraffa camelopardalis congolensis is one of the symbols of Garamba National Park, in part because it is an endemic subspecies but also because it represents the only giraffe population in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. 

Although population numbers have always been low, it has plummeted to only a few individuals over the past couple of decades. A count of 354 giraffes in 1993 dropped to a mere 86 in 2007. Although historically poaching and political instability have been major contributors to the decline in the giraffe population, currently giraffe poaching is considered taboo for cultural reasons. Locally it is believed that consuming giraffe meat causes leprosy and poaching incidents have declined considerably as a result. As such, the causes for the population crash or subsequent lack of recovery are unknown and speculation has ranged from high levels of predation to forage limitation.

In an attempt to gather more information on the Garamba giraffe population, it was decided to fit some giraffe with GPS collars, financed by the Fundación Biodiversidad from Spain. The first attempt in February ended in failure as the giraffe were too skittish to approach on foot. Although giraffes are mostly collared by darting them from a helicopter, we were unable to obtain one. Consequently, we changed our approach and darted them using an ultra-light aircraft.

We completed some practice runs using a wooden target mounted on the back of a moving vehicle. The ground team also received some training to cut off the animal’s escape route and to help her fall gently to avoid any injuries.

Early morning on 21 May a nervous team set off the find the giraffe. Once we located the animals, it was the aerial team’s task to steer the animals into an area where the giraffe is unlikely to hurt itself falling, where visibility favours an accurate shot and an area easily accessible by the ground team. The immobilisation of free ranging giraffe is a delicate process. Once the drug is administered, the ground team has three minutes to reach the giraffe to assist the fall. The veterinarian administers an antidote after which the animal is awake, but held down and kept calm by covering its eyes and ears.

Following these critical moments, the team silently continued their work, each with their own task - placing the collar, taking blood, skin and hair samples and checking the giraffe’s vital signs. When all is done the team moves away allowing the animal to get up and run away safely.

Everything went smoothly and we managed to fit collars to five giraffes over a period of three days. These collars will now allow us to follow their movements and map their distribution, providing a basis for studies on their behaviour, population numbers and habitat and feeding preferences. This information may ultimately help us understand the reasons for the population declines. The initial monitoring of the giraffe will be done by Marina Mònico, a volunteer from Spain. Marina is a biologist with a Master’s degree in Management and Conservation of Biodiversity.

In addition to the giraffe collared, the team also used the opportunity to collar another lioness and a female elephant. Currently the Garamba monitoring team is following the movements of five giraffes, five lions and five elephants.