Giraffes are one of Africa's most iconic and easily recognizable mammal species. Historically, giraffes roamed throughout most parts of Kenya and played an important cultural role in indigenous communities. The Maasai Giraffe, photographed here, is an iconic sub-species of the giraffe family that conservationists warn is under critical threat from poaching, climate change, habitat loss from improper land use, disease, and the rapid expansion of human population and the consequent changes in land use practice has severely fragmented the habitat and range of giraffe in Kenya. Maasai giraffes are now limited to the southern parts of Kenya: ranging from the Nairobi National Park southwards through the Athi Plains, and eastwards from the Masai Mara Ecosystem to the Amboseli Ecosystem, Chyulu Hills National Park, Taita Ranches and Tsavo West National Park.