Photo by @amivitale | A West African giraffe looks up at its mother in the Giraffe Zone, a government-defined region in Niger where giraffes and humans coexist. Newborn giraffes measure approximately six feet (two meters) tall and can stand within a half hour of hitting the ground at birth. (Their entry into the world can be more than a five-foot (1.5-meter) drop—mothers give birth standing.) Today there are barely 600 West African giraffes in existence, so creation of a satellite population of the highly endangered subspecies was undertaken by the Nigerien government with help from the Giraffe Conservation Foundation and Sahara Conservation Fund. Learn more, including how to get involved, by following @giraffe_conservation and @amivitale. #SaharaConservationFund #protectgiraffes #giraffe #savegiraffes #niger