Rare giraffes make comeback

In this Aug. 2, 2009 photo, a group of giraffes from Africa's most endangered giraffe subspecies walk through scrub brush near Koure, Niger. By all accounts, they should be extinct. Instead, their numbers have quadrupled to 200 since 1996, an unlikely boon experts credit to the concurrence of an impoverished government keen for revenue that has enacted laws to protected them, a conservation program that encourages people to support them, and a rare harmony with humans who have accepted their presence. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

In this Saturday, Aug. 1, 2009 photo, a pair of giraffes from Africa's most endangered giraffe subspecies nuzzle as they stand in the bush near Koure, Niger. By all accounts, they should be extinct. Instead, their numbers have quadrupled to 200 since 1996, an unlikely boon experts credit to the concurrence of an impoverished government keen for revenue that has enacted laws to protected them, a conservation program that encourages people to support them, and a rare harmony with humans who have accepted their presence. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

A giraffe pauses while crossing a road outside Niger's capital Niamey July 4, 2005. Giraffes are rare in West Africa, with Niger claiming to be home to the only giraffe population in the region. REUTERS/Finbarr O'Reilly