Researchers conducted surveys with people in Niger to assess attitudes toward and experiences with wild Giraffes. They found that half or more of all farmers in the villages surveyed were affected by giraffes. Most people did not feel that the presence of giraffes was an advantage. Though the biggest problem with giraffes was that they ate crops, few farmers attempted to prevent this with ditches or fences and few respondents associated the crop invasions with local deforestation.

Respondents cited three major problems with giraffes: “consumption of cow peas that had been harvested but left in fields prior to storage in granaries, depredation of harvests already stored in granaries, and consumption of fruits (particularly mangoes) from orchards.” This impacted at least half of people in all villages surveyed.

Most of those surveyed found that giraffes were not an advantage, even though they contribute to the tourism industry. Notably, those in the giraffe-friendly group contained a higher proportion of cow pea farmers affected by giraffes.

Over a fourth of respondents associated the problem of giraffes foraging in villages with the fact that giraffes were not afraid of people. Other reasons that received moderate support included the protected status of giraffes, a lack of crop protection, and hunger. However, only 2% noted that local deforestation might be eliminating their foraging options.

A news article on the paper is available here.