CONTEXT:

• The Trump administration on April 25, 2019 initiated its first move towards extending protection for giraffes under the Endangered Species Act.
• The decision comes after legal pressure from environmental groups.

BACKGROUND:

• The group, which designates endangered species, added giraffes to its “Red List” in 2016.
• It determined that the species as a whole is “vulnerable” to extinction and classified two subspecies as “critically endangered.”
• There are now only about 68,000 mature giraffes left in the wild, with their number falling each year.
• A coalition of environmental and conservation groups petitioned the Fish and Wildlife Service in early 2017 to protect giraffes under the Endangered Species Act.