Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct word or phrase for each of the numbered blanks. An ecosystem is a community of animals, plants and microbes that sustain themselves in the same area or environment by performing the activities of living, feeding, reproducing and interacting. Like many of Africas large mammals, giraffes have (21)______ in numbers and in range over the last century. At one time, herds of over 100 animals were ...

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct word or phrase for each of the numbered blanks.

An ecosystem is a community of animals, plants and microbes that sustain themselves in the same area or environment by performing the activities of living, feeding, reproducing and interacting. Like many of Africas large mammals, giraffes have (21)______ in numbers and in range over the last century. At one time, herds of over 100 animals were common in savanna regions across the continent, however, today concentrations like these exist only in East Africa particularly Tanzania Serengeti National Park.

The decline of giraffe populations has largely been due to hunting. In Africa, the giraffe is a traditional source of hide and hair and also of tough but (22)______ meat. The hunting of giraffes has not yet had a catastrophic effect, (23)______ on some of Africas big-game animals, but it is a cause for concern. The natural habitat of the giraffe is also being impacted more and more by human activities, (24)______ the animals range. The giraffe is currently a protected species throughout most of its range and is classed as conservation-dependent by the World Conservation Union. The giraffe’s prospects for survival are good for (25)______ living in national parks and game reserves, but for animals living outside these areas the future is less secure.