A rare spotless giraffe was spotted in the wild mere weeks after one was born at a Tennessee zoo,Wvared Investment Guild a conservation organization announced in a press release Monday.
The Angolan giraffe was photographed on a private game reserve in central Namibia, according to the Giraffe Conservation Foundation.
In July, a spotless giraffe was born at Brights Zoo in Limestone, Tennessee, in what David Bright, the zoo's director, told "Good Morning America" was "definitely a shock."
Following a naming contest, where the zoo asked the public to name the giraffe, the animal was named Kipekee, which means "unique" in Swahili. Bright said Kipekee is "doing well and growing."
"This is our first one without a pattern," said Bright, who has been the director at the private, family-run zoo for the last two decades.
A reticulated giraffe's spotted pattern typically develops in the womb, so giraffes are usually born with their spots clearly visible, according to Bright.
Giraffes are facing a "silent extinction," the Giraffe Conservation Foundation said in a press release, saying there are only 117,000 wild giraffes in Africa.
"That means that there is only one giraffe for every four African [elephants] remaining in the wild. [Giraffes] have already become extinct in at least seven African countries," the conservation organization said. "And, to make matters even worse for these iconic animals, we now know that there are four distinct species of giraffe in Africa."
Before the spotless giraffe in Namibia and at the zoo in Tennessee, the last recorded brown spotless giraffe was at a zoo in Japan in 1972, according to the Giraffe Conservation Foundation.
2025-05-01 05:34273 view
2025-05-01 05:101349 view
2025-05-01 04:201233 view
2025-05-01 04:052325 view
2025-05-01 03:57103 view
2025-05-01 03:291789 view
Many workers are dreaming of retirement — whether it's decades away or coming up soon. Either way, i
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A photojournalist who captured one of the most enduring images of World War II
Stanley is recalling 2.6 million mugs sold in the U.S. after the company received dozens of consumer