A reticulated giraffe towers above the shrubbery at Loisaba Conservancy in Laikipia, northern Kenya. One of the theories put forward as to why giraffe have such long necks is that it gives them an advantage in securing nutrients. They can reach leaves that no other animals can. Others posit that the long necks are a result of sexual selection since male giraffes battle with their necks to win mates. Most recently, scientists have hypothesized that the long necks are to help fight the African heat. The greater surface area allows more heat can escape.

Whichever it may be, these fascinating creatures are in trouble. Their numbers have fallen 30 percent in three decades, plummeting from approximately 155,000 in the late 1980s to about 110,000 today. Reticulated giraffe number fewer than 16,000.