What is giraffe skin used for

Illegal hunting is also a problem for the species. Giraffes are poached for their meat in many regions of Africa — as well as for their pelts, bones, hair and tails — by hunters and trappers wielding snares, guns and other weapons. Giraffe hair is used to make jewelry, and giraffe tails are highly valued by some cultures. Giraffe populations have also been diminished by civil unrest, military actions and war and violence.

To many people's surprise, the United States is part of the problem. Between and , the United States imported 21, giraffe-bone carvings, 3, giraffe-skin pieces and 3, giraffe hunting trophies. These majestic creatures were once found widely across Africa in many different regions and ecosystems. These subspecies are each unique, both genetically and physically, often sporting entirely different patterns on their coats, and each use their local habitats in different ways.

Thus, conserving all nine subspecies is a priority — especially since some have populations of only to giraffes. We're on the cusp of understanding so much about giraffes. The other 40, items imported between and include 21, giraffe bone carvings, 4, raw bones and 2, bone pieces, as well as full skins and 3, partial skins. Those combined items represent some 4, individual giraffes.

According to the final report , trophy hunters are the source of most of the raw materials used in giraffe products. Karen Weintraub at The New York Times reports most trophy hunters take the head and part of the neck of the animal and leave the rest of the carcass with hunting outfitters, who supply the U.

Adam Peyman, manager of wildlife programs and operations for HSI, tells Sam Wolfson at The Guardian that the outfitters try to get as much money as they can from the giraffes.

As restrictions have tightened on importing products from other African animals into the U. Bringing home elephant trophies and lion hides from certain countries, for example, was banned under the Obama administration, though a court struck down that ban in March. The hair follicles do not grow in clusters, and with some regional variations, have associated sebaceous glands, apocrine glands, and arrectores pilorum muscles.

Only the large hairs have a prominent medulla. In such specialized regions as the eyelids, nose, and lips, the apocrine glands are surrounded by cholinesterase-reactive nerves but the glands on the general body surface are not.