World's Last Female White Giraffe & Her Calf Killed by Poachers
Conservationists from northeastern Kenya announced that two extremely rare, all-white giraffes that were living on the vast conservation land are dead, believed to be killed by poachers.
According to a statement from the Ishaqbini Hirola Community Conservancy, a team of rangers and community members found the carcasses of a female adult giraffe and her 7-month old calf “in a skeletal state.”
“Kenya’s only female white giraffe and her calf have been confirmed dead in Ijara, Garissa County,” the statement read.
The conservancy believes “armed poachers” are to blame.
SAD NEWS?: @IshaqbiniHirola Community Conservancy, Garissa County loses two famous white giraffes to poachers.
For more info, here’s the press release. @KWS @USAIDKenya @EUinKenya @denmarkinkenya @Nature_Africa @KWCAKenya @africa_ci @SwedeninKE pic.twitter.com/Nwp1F0VexF
— @nrt_kenya (@NRT_Kenya) March 10, 2020
The mother giraffe’s bull that was born in 2017 is now thought to be the only remaining all-white giraffe in the world.
The little giraffe family rose to prominence when they were photographed in 2017 in the free-range area where they lived.
Ishaqbini stated that the giraffe trio was all-white, but not albino, instead, living with a condition known as leucism.
Leucism causes a partial lack of pigmentation and generally does not affect the animal’s dark eye color — the mother giraffe’s eyes were dark, Ishaqbini stated.
Mohammed Ahmednoor, the manager of the Ishaqbini Hirola Community Conservancy, called the deaths “a long term loss,” to the scientific community, tourists and wildlife conservationists alike.
“This is a very sad day for the community of Ijara and Kenya as a whole,” Ahmednoor said.
“We are the only community in the world who are custodians of the white giraffe.”
Rare white giraffes killed by poachers in Kenya https://t.co/uNTZtmaHWZ
— BBC News (UK) (@BBCNews) March 10, 2020
“Its killing is a blow to the tremendous steps taken by the community to conserve rare and unique species, and a wake-up call for continued support to conservation efforts,” Ahmendnoor said.
Poachers likely targeted the exotic creatures for their unique hides as well as meat, killing them around four months ago based upon the skeletal remains, The Washington Post reported.
Kenya Wildlife Service said it was investigating the killings of the two giraffes, the outlet reported.
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