Nairobi — Selma saunters on her stilt-like legs, batting thick lashes as she extends a blackish tongue — as long as an arm — to grab pellets offered by an awed tourist. The giraffe is, after all, eating for two. Her pregnancy is good news for one of the rarest giraffe species, protected at the Giraffe Centre in the Kenyan capital, but experts warn the outlook for the rest of the world’s tallest land mammals is far gloomier. While it is hoped the shocking news that the gentle giants of the African savannah are facing extinction will spur action, conservationists largely have their hands tied as many giraffe live in Africa’s most conflict-torn regions. Somalia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan and northeastern Kenya are all home to giraffe species that are severely under threat and conflicts not only lead to more poaching, but make it almost impossible to study them or protect them. "When [rebels] see a giraffe walking around they see it as a source of food. With one bull...
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