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of Kenya’s leucistic reticulated giraffe and her seven-monthold calf leaves her male counterpa as the only white giraffe in the country, and the second remaining on the entire planet. There is just one other, named Omo, at Tanzania’s Tarangire National Park. Even as we mourn this sad loss, we must ask ourselves some impo ant questions. How can we protect such critically endangered species more effectively? How do we conve poachers who are so desperate for money that even punitive laws have failed to restrain?
THE KILLING
Vaquita
We have to concede that commercial fishing is necessary for both food and employment. The problem begins when there is poor marine stewardship and we either ove ish, or use methods that incur collateral damage. Case in point: the vaquita. Although not a target for fishermen, these dolphins inadve ently get caught in the nets set out for the lucrative totoaba. To date, there are only nine known vaquitas remaining in the Gulf of California. Will there be any le by the year’s end?
Saola
Before 1992, biologists had been unaware of the existence of saolas. Much is still unknown about these antelope-like creatures, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is unable to say how many saolas are le in the world. What they do know is that they are ge ing caught in snares in Southeast Asia at an alarming rate. There are no saolas in captivity and only four documented in the wild. To be er protect the deer, conservationists must race against time to learn more about them.
Yangtze So shell Tu le
Since the death of a rare Yangtze so shell tu le in 2016, conservationists have been desperately trying to protect the remaining three in the world and hopefully breed new specimens with them. It doesn’t help that the sole tu le in captivity is incapable of breeding, while the other two are yet to be captured. There are grounds for optimism, however. A female tu le can lay up to 40 eggs multiple times a year. Over multiple breeding cycles, this species might escape the grasp of extinction yet.