Endangered giraffes are being transported to safety from shrinking flooded island

Eight endangered giraffes have been rescued by "giraffe-raft" from a shrinking, flooded island that was surrounded by crocodile-infested waters.

The perilous operation to save the animals was conducted by conservationists, government officials, and local community members of Ruko Community Wildlife Conservancy in Kenya to get the animals to higher ground before it was too late.

Watch the giraffes being transported to safety in the video below: 

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The giraffes in question were of the endangered Rothschild’s subspecies, of which there are less than 2,500 left in the wild, Tusk.org reports.

The giraffes were brought to Longicharo Island in Lake Baringo in 2011 by rangers who believed that it would be a danger-free home for them.

At the time, it wasn't an island, but a peninsula. However, after years of flooding, it split apart from the mainland.

Until then, the giraffes were tended to by the rangers who kept them well-fed, traveling to them by boat.

With additional flooding now on the horizon, the threat to the endangered animals was considered too great to keep them on the island any longer, and authorities concluded that they had to make a giraffe raft to save one of the tallest and widest of the species.

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The giraffes were familiarised with the raft on land for some months, before Asiwa, an adult female, was sedated and had her eyes covered to make the trip to safety.

In an interview with Gizmodo, David O'Connor, President of Save Giraffes Now, the non-profit behind the rescue, described the giraffe raft specifically designed for the rescue.

"The barge floats atop a series of empty drums, for buoyancy. Reinforced sides kept Asiwa from jumping out as the barge was gently maneuvered by boats," he explained.

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"Asiwa, has always been a priority for the team on the ground, as she was the most vulnerable," reads the Instagram post by Save The Giraffes. "It is a relief for all involved to have got her safely across to the mainland and we are sure she is enjoying the space in her new home!"

Asiwa is now on dry land and she is awaiting the safe transportation of her fellow island giraffes to being their new life in a 4,400-acre reservation that is surrounded by a high fence intended to keep them safe from predators and poachers for many years to come.