A rare spotless giraffe was spotted in the wild mere weeks after one was born at a Tennessee zoo,FinLogic 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.
2025-05-07 20:342176 view
2025-05-07 20:23958 view
2025-05-07 19:531705 view
2025-05-07 19:392638 view
2025-05-07 19:121037 view
2025-05-07 18:302468 view
President Trump has decided to give automakers a break on some of his tariffs, the latest retreat fr
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — A shooting in a Sioux Falls neighborhood left three people dead and two oth
HONG KONG (AP) — Asian markets were mixed on Monday after a jobs report released Friday came in hott