Photo: Video capture / Courtesy
A rare unspotted giraffe was born at the Brights Zoo in Limestone, Tennessee, on July 31.becoming one of the establishment’s most popular animals due to experts believing it to be the only solid-colored reticulated giraffe on the planet.
“Giraffe experts believe it is the only solid-colored reticulated giraffe to live anywhere on the planet.Bright’s Zoo stated in a statement.
Zoo director David Bright said in an email to CBS News that the last recorded unspotted giraffe was in 1972 in Tokyo. The animal named Toshiko was born at the Ueno Zoo, according to file photos.
“Since day one we have been in contact with zoo professionals across the country. And especially the old-timers, who have been around for a long time, ‘Hey, have you seen this? What is your opinion? And no one has seen it,” Bright said.
Reticulated giraffes are a species of giraffe with brown and orange spots. They are native to Africa and in 2018 they were listed as endangered, according to the Giraffe Conservation Foundation.
Bright Zoo animal keeper Tony Bright said he knew she was different because she was born without spots, which can usually be seen right after giraffes are born.
He said they decided to check his blood work when they noticed the abnormality, but the results were similar to those of another giraffe born two weeks earlier. “Every day it gets stronger,” she said.
Bright’s Zoo has nine giraffes.
The baby giraffe is 6 feet tall and is “thriving” under its mother’s care, the zoo said.
“It is better that he was born in captivity. In nature, they use these points to camouflage themselves… Being a single color, it may not be able to hide as wellBright said.
The zoo hopes the giraffe will draw attention to the challenges the species faces in the wild, according to a news release.
“International coverage of our patternless baby giraffe has created a much-needed spotlight on giraffe conservation.. Wild populations are quietly slipping towards extinction, with 40% of the wild giraffe population lost in the last 3 decades.”, he pointed.
On Sunday, The zoo announced a naming contest for the baby giraffe., whose list list has been reduced to four options: Kipekee, which means unique; Firyali, which means unusual or extraordinary; Shakiri, which means “she is the most beautiful”; and Jamella, which means “one of great beauty.”
“The Bright family has analyzed hundreds and thousands of names, their meanings. Those four are the four that the family is really attached to. So if she is named one of those four, we are very happy,” the zoo said.
In 2020, a family of three rare white giraffes was spotted in Kenya. All-white giraffes had leucism, which causes loss of pigmentation, creating white skin.
After poachers killed two of the giraffes, a conservation group fitted the remaining giraffe with a GPS monitor to track its movements and hopefully keep poachers away.
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