Two rare white giraffes, a mother and her calf, were poached in Kenya. Rangers found the carcasses of the two animals in a village in Kenya’s Garissa County, according to BBC.
A rare genetic condition called leucism is what gave the giraffes their unique colouring. It causes skin cells to have no pigmentation.
The animals were first photographed in 2017, where concerns about their safety were raised as their location was revealed.
Probably should have not told their location. Next article will read, “Rare, white giraffes poached.” Be safe beauties.
— jen (@Tostiemama) September 17, 2017
BREAKING NEWS: Sad day as KENYA’s only female white giraffe and her calf are killed by poachers at Ishaqbini Hirola Conservancy in Ijara, Garissa County. 🦒🦒😢😢😢😢😢 pic.twitter.com/tnXZVjz86M
— The Real Kenyan (@therealkenyan_) March 10, 2020
The animals were killed at Ishaqbini Hirola Community Conservancy. The manager, Mohammed Ahmednoor, spoke to BBC and said that these giraffes hadn’t been seen in over three months.
In a ststement, Mr Ahmednoor said: ‘This is a very sad day for the community of Ijara and Kenya as a whole. We are the only community in the world who are custodians of the white giraffe. Its killing is a blow to the tremendous steps taken by the community to conserve rare and unique species and a wake-up call for continued support to conservation efforts.’
The incident is being investigated and no arrests have been made yet.
Image: Instagram/ @_sustainable.you
