Its last self-sustaining herd is in southwest Niger, supported by a series of refuges in Dosso Region and the tourist center at Kouré, some 80km southeast of Niamey.

[3][4] In the 19th century it ranged from Senegal to Lake Chad,[5] yet in 2011 this subspecies only survives in a few isolated pockets containing about 400 individuals in total.

[5] The Nigerien giraffe population relies upon seasonal migration between the relatively drought-resistant lowlands of the Niger River valley and the drier highlands near Kouré.

Population growth, involving more intensive farming and hunting, a series of droughts since the late 19th century, and environment destruction (both natural and human made) have all contributed to their dramatic decline.

However, recent genetic research has shown that the populations from northern Cameroon and southern Chad actually are the Kordofan giraffe (G. c.

[4] The West African giraffe survive primarily on a diet of leaves from Acacia albida and Hyphaene thebaica, as well as Annona senegalensis, Parinari macrophylla, Piliostigma reticulatum, and Balanites aegyptiaca.

From there, the largest existing herd migrates seasonally to the drier highlands along the Dallol Bosso valley, as far north as Kouré, some 80 km southeast of Niamey.