Diseases can greatly impact wildlife populations by causing temporary or permanent decreases in abundance. Pathogens also can interact with other factors such as habitat loss, climate change, and overexploitation to cause local extinctions. The iconic Maasai giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis tippelskirchi) is the national animal of the United Republic of Tanzania. The range of giraffe once covered most of Africa, but is presently discontinuous and much reduced as a result of the rinderpest pandemic, poaching, human settlement, deforestation, and expansion of agriculture. The remaining isolated populations are generally declining and increasingly vulnerable to stochastic factors such as diseases.
