RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Two extremely rare white giraffes have been killed by hunters in northeast Kenya, environmentalists say.
Forest rangers found the carcasses of the female and her calf in a village in Garissa County, northeast Kenya. A third white giraffe (male) is still alive. Environmentalists believe it is the only specimen in the world.
Its white appearance is due to a rare condition called leucism, which causes skin cells to be devoid of pigmentation, but, unlike albinism, has other colored cells, particularly dark eyes.
The head of Kenya’s Community Preservation, Ishaqbini Hirola, Mohammed Ahmednoor, said that the two dead giraffes had last been seen more than three months ago. “This is a very sad day for the community of Ijara and Kenya as a whole. We are the only community in the world that is the guardian of the white giraffe,” Ahmednoor said in a statement.
“Their murder is a blow to the important steps taken by the community to preserve rare and unique species and a wake-up call for continued support for preservation efforts,” he added.
The hunters have not yet been identified, and their motive remains unclear.
The Kenya Wildlife Society, East Africa’s leading conservation body, said it is investigating the killings.
What is leucism?
- Leucism inhibits pigmentation in some skin cells, it is different from albinism, where no melanin is produced.
- Animals with leucism may have darker pigments in the soft tissue.
- Giraffes with leucism retain their dark eyes, while animals with albinism have rosy eyes.
- Birds, lions, fish, peacocks, penguins, eagles, hippos, moose and snakes have exhibited traces of leucism.
The reserve is in a large conservation area. There are also villages within the reserve.
The white giraffes were first sighted in Kenya in March 2016, about two months after an appearance in neighboring Tanzania, according to the Wildlife Society. News of the existence of white giraffes spread around the world after they were photographed in 2017.
Approximately 40 percent of the giraffe population has disappeared in the past 30 years as the hunt for meat and fur persists, according to the Africa Wildlife Foundation.
The worldwide giraffe population has decreased from some 155,000 in 1985 to 97,000 in 2015, according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Source: BBC