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West African Giraffe back out of Hell
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More
than 12.000 West African giraffes are slaughtered the last 40
years. Attacked by poachers and a president who killed 12 of them
in order to send a present to a neighbor dictator. A few days
before we arrived, poachers tried to cut one of the legs of this
giant animals. The giraffe escaped, limping. Now the wound is
infected. The chance to survive is nil.
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We - Maaike and Peter - arrived in Niger (1999) after crossing the Sahara dessert. You read more about this adventure on this site www.global-unlimited.com. When we visited the first time these beautiful animals - 50 miles southeast of the capital of Niger - we found that a Dutch project protected the animal. |
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To be honest: without these help the giraffe would have been slaughtered. The Dutch created an infrastructure and managed to settle some rules. Locals do not slaughter the giraffe for its meat. Locals could earn money by guiding tourists. And locals report poachers and get rewarded. A very efficient way to save the race from total destruction. |
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Maaike and I checked the
efficiency of the system and we are impressed. Honestly. Guides
wear nice uniforms. Villages are regularly visit and educated.
Every day the giraffes are watched and guarded. Really, this project
is a roll-model to protect for instance the Surinam Turtles. At
one of her visits Maaike gave a little tiny baby of three meters
her Christian name 'Manon'. The kid was born a few months ago
and carried 'number 64' which does not bright her future. Manon
and Maaike are both proud. One because she carries a beautiful
name. The other because she can sleep with the knowledge that
a beautiful animal will not be extinguished. |
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