Kenya: Endangered giraffe rescued from island on Lake Baringo

A third endangered Rothschild’s giraffe has been rescued from Longicharo Island on Kenya's Lake Baringo. 

As water levels rise around the lake, the land continues to shrink threatening the survival of trapped animals. 

There are still six giraffes remaining, that will be moved in the coming months. They had been  trapped in Lake Baringo following a bout of flooding caused by heavy rainfall.

Rothschild’s are one of the largest of the nine subspecies of giraffe and can reach heights of nearly six metres.

"We recently moved one more giraffe in addition to the previous two, which removed early December. This is because over time we've trained the giraffe to feed within the badge, they got used to feeding and it was easy to move that giraffe without tranquilising it or using use of any medicine." Aloise Naitera, from the NRT- Baringo county said.

The giraffes were originally homed on the island in 2011, in order to protect them from poachers. There are thought to be fewer than 2,000 Rothschild’s giraffes left in the wild, making them one of the most endangered giraffe subspecies. Naitera explained "the target is to move these animals by maybe April May latest me around there, then we'll have moved all the animals."

Today, fewer than 3,000 Rothschild’s giraffe are left in Africa, with about 800 in Kenya.