GETTY The Congolese giraffe has been hunted to the brink of extinction because of its high price

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The Kordofan giraffe is teetering on the edge of extinction because its meat commands such a high price, according to conservationists. A single giraffe can produce up to 270 kilograms of meat, enough to feed an army of poachers for weeks, experts have said. The distinctive spotted skin is used for luxury goods and carries a high price tag in a country where per capita income is less than $230.

Aimé Balimbaki, the head of research and monitoring at Garamba National Park, says that just 34 adult giraffes survive split between two herds, with four young calves between them. He told the Times: “At the moment the ratio is one male to 2.4 females, which is still sustainable. "But if we have bad luck or if there is a serious menace – even if we lose just five giraffes – then the population may no longer be viable”.

GETTY A giraffe can produce up to 270 kilograms of meat, enough to feed an army of poachers for weeks

GETTY Just 34 adult giraffes survive split between two herds, with four young calves between them

Balimaki added that desperate refugees fleeing the bloody conflict in South Sudan often resorted to killing the giraffes for food. He said: “If more refugees arrive, or if there are political problems here and people come into the park to destroy the giraffe then we will lose them completely”. Park officials have warned that if they lose just five more giraffes, the population may no longer be sustainable on its own. Noëlle Kümpel of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, said: “Giraffes – like elephants, rhinos, and the like –have been picked off by poachers to feed the illegal wildlife trade and impoverished local people.

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Their habitat has been severely and, in many areas, irreparably degraded Noëlle Kümpel