The number of giraffes around the world is dangerously dwindling according to a conservation organization, Discovery News reported.

Dr. Julian Fennessy, director of the Giraffe Conservation Group, said the total population of giraffes was at 140,000 15 years ago. But now, due to various factors, there are only 80,000 giraffes in the world.

Fennessy noted that these animals are going through a silent extinction, an event where a species' population decreases dangerously without the public knowing much about it. He said that this is due to lack of public information regarding giraffes.

"Giraffes haven't hit the headlights yet," Fennessy told ABC News. "They're not on many NGOs' agenda, but hopefully that is changing."

For David O'Connor, a research coordinator for the San Diego Zoo's Institute for Conservation Research, the misconception about the healthy presence of giraffes also contributes to their silent extinction.

"Giraffes are everywhere," he told Scientific American. "Look at kids' books, which are full of giraffes. They're always in zoo collections. They're easily visible, so you don't think we have to worry about them."

Conservation experts cited certain human activities as the top reasons behind the decline of the animals.

Zoe Muller, a researcher for the Rothschild Giraffe Project, wrote in a 2010 report that the demand for giraffe byproducts has prompted widespread poaching.

"It is believed [in Tanzania] that giraffe brains and bone marrow can cure HIV-AIDS victims," she wrote. "Freshly severed heads and giraffe bones can fetch process of up to $140 per piece."

"In rural African communities, bush meat not only forms a large part of the diet but also provides an important source of income," she added. "Killing giraffe involves relatively little effort for the amount of meat yielded as a large quarry can be secured with a single gunshot."

Aside from poaching, Kathleen Garrigan of the Africa Wildlife Foundation pointed out that urban expansion can also have dangerous effects on giraffes as it destroys parts of their natural habitats.

"As the continent rapidly develops, modernizes, human activities, human settlements, human infrastructure, all of these things are coming closer and closer to the giraffes' habitat," she told Australian news program AM.

"This has caused a number of issues - not only degradation of habitat but also a conflict over resources," Garrigan added.