6 May 2017

Dr Julian Fennessy - Sticking your neck out for giraffes

From Saturday Morning, 11:35 am on 6 May 2017

Australians Dr Julian Fennessy and his wife Stephanie are co-founders and directors of the Giraffe Conservation Foundation (GCF) - the only NGO that concentrates solely on the conservation and management of giraffe throughout Africa. The pair, along with their two children, are based in Namibia from where the GCF conducts its work, including extensive research based on fitting wild giraffe with GPS tracking collars to understand behaviour and threats to the species. The work is considered urgent by many in conservation, with numbers of giraffe plummeting by over 40 per cent in the last two decades, and the animal having gone extinct in at least seven African countries. Julian and Stephanie Fennessy will be in Auckland for a free event, hosted by the Auckland Zoo, at the Auckland Art Gallery Auditorium on May 13, where they will present a screening of a David Attenborough-narrated documentary, Giraffes - Africa's Gentle Giants, about their Foundation's work.