The only known female white giraffe in the world, listed in Kenya, was killed by poachers on a reserve in the east of the country, according to a local association. One of his two cubs was also killed. These extremely rare animals have not been reported anywhere else.
The bodies of the two white-skinned giraffes due to extremely rare pigmentation were found "in skeleton after being killed by poachers" on a reserve in Garissa, eastern Kenya.
After their disappearance, there remains only one white giraffe, a male, whose mother was the female slaughtered by hunters, said in a statement the local association Ishaqbini Hirola, which manages the reserve.
" A blow "
"We are the only community in the world that works to preserve the white giraffe," said Mohammed Ahmednoor, the association's director. "This killing is a major blow to the important measures taken by the community to preserve rare species, and a call to vigilance for continued support for protection efforts," he said.
The white giraffe aroused great interest in 2017, when it was first seen on the Kenyan reserve and when it gave birth to two young, the last born in August 2019.
These white giraffes have the characteristics not of albinism but of a genetic condition called leukism, due to a deficit of pigment cells, which is found in particular in certain white tigers.