A giraffe cub spotted in Tarangire National Park in Tanzania is a unique specimen of its kind. His lighter skin makes him special, although it is a consequence of a health disorder.
Omo, a 15-month-old giraffe cub, stood out from its herd by pale skin. Such an appearance is a consequence of leukemia, a condition which is a consequence of a partial loss of pigmentation.
She was spotted in Tanzania by Dr. Derek Lee, founder and scientist at the Wild Nature Institute.
- Omo agrees with other giraffes, I always see her in a large group of giraffes of the usual color, who don't seem to mind that she is different - Lee explains.
Dr. Lee and his associates fight to preserve giraffes in this national park and protect them from poachers to give them a chance to survive, so they regularly monitor this giraffe's "faded" color as well.
# Omo
The bodies of the killed white giraffe and its cub were found in a nature reserve in eastern Kenya. Poachers in Garissa, in the east of the country, are responsible for the death of the only female and cub of the white giraffe. This very rare animal has not been observed in any other country in the world. a statement from Ishaqbini Hirola, which manages the reserve.
The white giraffe attracted the attention of the public in 2017, when it was first discovered in a Kenyan reserve and when it gave birth to two cubs, the second of which was born in August 2019, writes 021.
White giraffes do not have albinism, but the genetic condition leukemia, which is a consequence of a lack of pigment and which has been found in some white tigers.
The bodies of the mother and her cub were found in a village in the Garris district in the northeast of the country. The third white giraffe is still alive and is considered to be the only white giraffe in the whole world.
White giraffes are white due to leukemia, a rare disease whose main feature is the absence of pigment in skin cells, reports "Jutarnji".
News of the existence of white giraffes spread around the world after they were photographed in 2017.
Muhammad Ahmednur, director of the Ishaqbini Hirola Community Conservancy, said the giraffes were last seen three months ago.
- This is a very sad day for the city of Ijar and Kenya as a whole. We are the only community in the world that takes care of the white giraffe - said Ahmednur
- Our efforts to preserve rare and unique species have suffered a major blow and this should serve as an invitation to continue conservation activities - he added.
The poachers have not yet been identified, and the motive for the killings is unclear.
The Kenya Institute for the Care of Wild Animals, the main state body for the preservation of endangered animal species in that country, said that it is investigating the murders.
White giraffes were first seen in Kenya in March 2016, two months after they were seen in neighboring Tanzania.
According to the African Wildlife Foundation, about 40 percent of all giraffes have disappeared in the last 30 years because poachers kill them for their meat and fur. From 1985 to 2015, the number of individuals dropped from 155 thousand to 97 thousand.
The only known white giraffe in the world, which lives in Kenya, has been fitted with a GPS tracking device in order to be protected from poachers, the Ishakbini Hirola Reserve announced today.
Despite its uniqueness, the lone male has no name. He was left alone after a female and her cub were killed by poachers in March.
The white color of the animal is caused by a rare genetic anomaly called leukemia, and due to its unusual appearance, the white giraffe is extremely endangered by poaching.
A lone male is left without a female and cubs that were brutally killed by poachers, and the Kenyan authorities are now fighting for his life!
A GPS tracking device attached to one of the giraffe's horns will send rangers information about its location to the rangers every hour.
When I read the title of the article, I thought, "how amazing it is to see a white giraffe", but unfortunately in the article I see that it is a giraffe that has leukemia. It is sad that some evil people killed the mother and her cub. I hope the GPS to successfully perform its function so that the only white giraffe would not perish.