Photo: youtube.com/Hirola Conservation Program

The World Daily | News Desk           MARCH  11th   2020

Kenya: very rare white giraffes killed by poachers. Only one left

In North-Eastern Kenya, guards found two dead white giraffes. According to them, the female and her child were killed by poachers. White giraffes are extremely rare, and now there is only one of them left in the world.

According to CNN, a family of white giraffes lived in the Ishaqbini Hirola Community Conservancy in Kenya. They were last seen over three months ago. The guards found the bodies of the giraffes in a village in Garissa County.

Poachers killed two of the three white giraffes in Kenya

The dead giraffes turned out to be a mother and her child. The third and currently the only white giraffe in the world – male – is still alive. 

“This killing is a blow, the waste of huge steps taken by the community to protect rare and unique species. It is also a signal for further actions to protect endangered species. This is a huge loss, also taking into account the research of scientists that have already been wasted,” - said the director of Ishaqbini Hirola Community Conservancy, Mohammed Ahmednoor.

The white colour of the giraffes is caused by an extremely rare leucitism, which causes a lack of skin pigmentation. Leucitism differs from albinism and vitiligo in that melanin production does not disappear. White animals with leucitism therefore keep their eyes dark, while in animals with albinism the eyes go a shade of pink or red.

For the first time, photographs of the white giraffes were published in 2017. For now, it has not been possible to identify the poachers behind the death of giraffes. The Kenyan authorities are investigating this matter. According to the African Wildlife Foundation, about 40 percent of the giraffe population has become extinct over the past 30 years. These animals are killed by poachers who harvest their meat and skin, which go for high prices on black markets.
 

The World Daily | News Desk