Giraffes are stuck on a flooding island. But the rescues have begun [View all]

(CNN) Time was running out for Asiwa, a Rothschild’s giraffe in western Kenya.

For years, she and seven other giraffes had been living on a peninsula that reached out into Lake Baringo. But rising lake levels, caused by relentless rain, had gradually turned the peninsula into an island, leaving the animals stranded.

It was especially grim for Asiwa, who was stuck on a marshy part of the island, separated from the other giraffes with only about an acre of land to forage for food. And the flooding was only getting worse.

She needed to be rescued.

Conservationists have teamed up with Kenyan wildlife authorities and local members of the community to start moving the giraffes off the island and into a new sanctuary within the 44,000-acre Ruko Conservancy. ..........(more)

https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2020/12/world/giraffe-rescue-kenya-cnnphotos/index.html