In a nature reserve in northeastern Kenya, two extremely rare white giraffes have been killed by poachers, conservationists say. A third white giraffe in the area is still alive, but it is now probably the only white giraffe on earth.
Conservationists found the dead giraffe and its calf in a village in the Ishaqbini Hirola nature reserve, a large unfenced area that also houses several villages. According to the nature reserve, the bodies were found in a “skeletal state”. The animals may therefore have been dead for months. Why they were killed is unknown.
The white giraffes were first seen in January 2016 in a national park in Tanzania. Two months later the animals were spotted in Kenya. The female, now killed by poachers, has thrown two giraffes in recent years, the last in August of this year. It’s about a man.
Huge blow
The conservationists are devastated by the death of the animals. “We are the only managers of the white giraffes in the world,” the manager of the reserve says in a statement. “The death of the giraffes is a huge blow to the steps the community has taken to protect unique and rare species, and a call to continue to make efforts to preserve species.”
The giraffes are white because of leucism, which causes the skin to produce less pigment. Leucism cannot be confused with albinism, in which no pigment is produced at all. That is why the animals have black eyes. Animals with leucism also have no increased sensitivity to sunlight.
These images of the white giraffe were posted on YouTube in August 2017:
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