One of nature\u2019s most lovable creatures, giraffes split their time between tottering around \u2013 head (neck) and shoulders above the rest of the animal kingdom \u2013 and eating. Dubbed \u201cgentle giants\u201d by David Attenborough , these gangly beasts have long exerted a fascination over humankind. Ancient Egyptians were so enamoured with giraffes they gave them their own hieroglyph , and in modern times, our interest in the world\u2019s tallest land animals continues \u2013 from the use of giraffe skin to help in the development of astronaut and pilot suits, to their starring roles in children\u2019s films. Unfortunately, Melman (the hypochondriac giraffe from Dreamworks\u2019 film Madagascar ) is right to feel worried. Giraffes are no longer as prolific as they once were \u2013 in fact, in 2017 they could face extinction.
On the African continent, to which giraffes are endemic, the rapid growth of the human population has been accompanied by a rise in agricultural development, poaching, deforestation, and civil wars \u2013 all of which have caused a loss of both habitats and lives for giraffes. Wild giraffes are already extinct in seven countries in Africa \u2013 Burkina Faso, Eritrea, Guinea, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria and Senegal. As a result, the most recent list of threatened species compiled by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature revealed a potential tragedy \u2013 the black-tongued sweethearts of the animal kingdom, have officially been moved from the category of \u201cleast concern\u201d to that marked \u201cvulnerable\u201d, only three categories away from being totally \u201cextinct in the wild\u201d. The giraffe is the only mammal whose status changed on the list.
At a biological diversity conference which took place in December in Cancun, Mexico, the IUCN explained that over the last three decades giraffe numbers have dwindled from around 157,000 to just 97,500 \u2013 a fall of 36-40%. The situation is bleak, but giraffes are not yet classified as \u201cendangered\u201d and could still make a comeback, with a little support.
Raising awareness of the plight of endangered animals is the most effective means by which we can change the human behaviour that impacts negatively on diminishing species. The problem is not just that giraffes are deliberately being killed by poachers, but also (and arguably on a larger scale) that they are dying as a consequence of other actions \u2013 such as deforestation, which removes their food source.
The first step in altering these leggy creatures\u2019 fate is education, and little details can make a big difference. One such detail is that, contrary to previous assumptions, giraffes are not one group comprised of multiple subspecies. Rather, as geneticists recently discovered, there are four distinct species of giraffe that do not interbreed in the wild. This has ramifications for conservation techniques, which will have to be focused on the needs of each species \u2013 not just the reticulated (or Somali) giraffe, which is the species most commonly seen in zoos.
If you type into Google \u201chow to save the giraffe\u201d, you will find a mass of petitions and links to giraffe conservation societies. The short answer, as the conservation expert Julian Fennessy put it, is that we must \u201cstick our neck out for the giraffe before it is too late\u201d. On a local level, petitioning politicians will prove it is a popular problem that deserves attention, and that in turn should encourage governments to act.
To this end, in September the IUCN put forward a resolution entitled \u201cGiraffids: reversing the decline of Africa\u2019s iconic megafauna\u201d, which encourages its members to raise awareness and funds, as well as pledging to increase conservation efforts for giraffid species (giraffes and okapis). Their most wide-ranging proposal is that the international community help restore and preserve sites of particular significance to giraffe populations. This would involve upholding states\u2019 commitments to the World Heritage Convention, including ensuring the security of World Heritage Sites such as the Garamba National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Ultimately, the resolution concludes, the most useful tool would be the development of a unified Africa-wide Giraffe Conservation Strategy and Action Plan.
As a call to action, everything the resolution recommends seems intuitive. However, behind the proposal to fortify national parks lies a grim truth \u2013 many of them are threatened by the instability that comes with continuous conflict. Some of the world\u2019s most critically endangered species reside within biodiversity hotspots such as Murchison Falls National Park in Africa which holds one of the few surviving populations of the Rothschild giraffe.
Unfortunately, these hotspots, of which there are 34 worldwide, are under threat from conflict. Between 1960 and 2010, over 80% of the world\u2019s major armed conflicts took place within recognised biodiversity hotspots. War has certainly impacted the giraffe population \u2013 \u201cIn these war-torn areas, in northern Kenya, Somalia, and Ethiopia in the border area with South Sudan, essentially the giraffes are war fodder, a large animal, extremely curious, that can feed a lot of people\u201d, Fennessy told the BBC.
Political experts the world over are torn over how to respond to crises such as the decline of the giraffe population. Governments and NGOs who have the resources to help to protect and maintain conservation efforts must recognise the need for long term involvement and investment. Hopefully, our on-going love affair with giraffes will help spark a united action to preserve them on this planet so that they may continue to bewitch and baffle future generations in the flesh, rather than ending up as the next long-necked staple of London’s Natural History Museum.
It\u2019s pretty much impossible not to fantasise about that first run-in with your ex. Yes, this time, you won\u2019t be sweaty and make up-free in Sainsbury\u2019s, trying to hide the fact that you\u2019re locked out of your flat. No, you\u2019ll be cool, calm and collected, with your ridiculously gorgeous new date.
Chewing Gum \u2019s Tracey (both played and created by Michaela Coel) uses children\u2019s toys to facilitate her own fantasy, and imagines it going something like this. \u201cOh, my god! Connor? Connor! It\u2019s Tracey! Yeah, no, no I know I look different now! Yeah, I\u2019ve becomes successful! Is this wide-legged hyena your new girlfriend? Oh? I wish I could but I\u2019ve actually got to go and see Beyonc\u00e9. Yeah, I\u2019m going to fly there.\u201d
Aaaand enter the ex, just as she lifts her plastic dolly in the air zooming her off to her imaginary Beyonc\u00e9 concert. Improvised make-up, fake boyfriends, and bizarre avoidance tactics follow.
This is a relatively minor catastrophe in the life of disaster-prone Tracey, and perhaps one of the least cringe-worthy punchlines in a terrifyingly relatable episode, the first of Chewing Gum \u2019s second season. The first season included a whole host of openly horny women, scenes of mass dildo washing and jokes about \u201cthrobbing so hard it\u2019s like my vagina\u2019s got epilepsy\u201d and Coel\u2019s brilliantly dirty sitcom shows no signs of toning down in its second series. The farcical climax of the first episode involves a disabled toilet, sexy dancing, fake orgasms and a healthy dose of projectile vomiting.
This first episode takes place almost entirely within the confines of the newsagent where Tracey works, so there was little opportunity to reconnect with the hyperreal housing estate where much of the last season was set. But supporting cast members still shone in this episode \u2013 in particular Ola (played by Olisa Odele, Ola is, in Odele\u2019s own words, a \u201cNigerian diva\u201d and \u201cfull time bad bitch\u201d). There\u2019s even a cameo from Stormzy, who was a fan of the first series.
But as the show becomes more and more surreal, it only becomes more relatable. Tracey almost compulsively lies to hide her embarrassment, inevitably making every situation worse. Though you will her to stop, the impulse is undeniably familiar. After all, who hasn\u2019t told a white lie about having a date lined up to their already-taken-again ex?
Chewing Gum airs on Thursday nights at 10pm on E4.<\/p>\n

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