An extremely rare white giraffe was killed by poachers. It would be the only female specimen in the world.
An extremely rare white giraffe was killed by poachers. It would be the only female specimen of Kenya and probably of the whole world. Now only a male would remain, the son of the killed giraffe.
I ranger dell’Ishaqbini Hirola Community Conservancy, found the body of the animal along with that of her puppy in a village in Garissa County, in northeastern Kenya and spread the news yesterday, March 10, with a note via social media.
The body of the giraffe mother was allegedly found "in a skeletal state after being killed by armed poachers" next to that of her youngest cub, who probably died of starvation following the death of her mother. It is speculated that she was killed 3/4 months ago, but the cause and the gunshot wound is undoubted.
This is a very sad day for the community of Ijara and Kenya as a whole. We are the only community in the world that is keeper of the white giraffe - said Mohammed Ahmednoor, director of the Ishaqbini Hirola Conservancy in the release - Its killing is a severe blow to the enormous steps taken by the community to conserve rare and unique species, and a warning for continued support for conservation efforts.
This is a long-term loss, as genetics studies and research, which were a significant investment in the area by researchers, have now failed. A loss that will also affect tourism, as the white giraffe represented a "big push"
SAD NEWS ??: Ishaqbini-Hirola Community Conservancy in Garissa County loses two famous white giraffes (the only female…
Posted by Northern Rangelands Trust on Tuesday, March 10, 2020
The specimen, in fact, made headlines in June 2017 when it was first spotted by a villager near the Ishaqbini Shrine. Its all-white appearance had amazed the local inhabitants and enchanted the world.
Our famous white giraffe has now a typical calf.Credit goes to the Rangers for the rare sighting.
Posted by Ishaqbini-Hirola Community Conservancy on Thursday, June 1, 2017
Suddenly, however, this caused not by albinism, but by leucism, which causes a partial loss of pigmentation in an animal. In practice, unlike albino specimens, the animals with leucism they continue to produce darker pigments in their soft tissues: they will have white skin and hair, but their eyes will be dark rather than red as is usually the case with albinism. Furthermore, leucism can be inherited and passed on from mother to child, as in this case. The puppy killed with his mother, in fact, was also white and was the second born. Now only one male white giraffe remains, the firstborn, the only one to carry on the candid genes of the family.
The white coat of giraffes, even if particular and captivating, becomes problematic from the point of view of safety as it exposes and makes the animal more visible to predators such as lions or, indeed, human poachers.
Last week sighting…..
Posted by Ishaqbini-Hirola Community Conservancy on Friday, July 5, 2019
In Tanzania in 2016 a giraffe with leucism was sighted, but not completely white like the examples of Kenya of which at the moment only one remains, probably the only one in the world.
Fonti: Ishaqbini Hirola Community Conservancy
On giraffes you might also be interested in:
- Experts warn: now giraffes are officially extinct in 7 countries
- Nobody talks about it, but giraffes are in danger of total disappearance for the first time in history
- Their neck turns into a lightning rod: 2 giraffes from a zoo in Florida die
- The curious and rare case of the Tanzanian white giraffe
