A white female giraffe, which is believed to be the last of its kind in the world, has been killed by poachers, Kenyan conservationists have announced.
Local residents found the skeletons of the mother and the young after a long search and it is believed that they died at least four months ago, said reserve manager Ishaqbini Hirola, in Kenya, in a statement. These rare giraffes, which lack the species' own colors for leucism, would have been killed by armed poachers, the note specified.
These giraffes were first seen in the bush of 2017 in Garissa County and their discovery had a worldwide impact because of their uniqueness and beauty.
The Kenya Wildlife Service was called to investigate the disappearance after the animals were not seen for several weeks.
"This is a very sad day for the Ijara community (reserve zone) and for all of Kenya," said Mohammed Ahmednoor, manager of this reserve in Garissa County, in Kenya,
"We are the only community in the world that guarded white giraffes," said the manager who recalled the tourist attraction they had for the area.
Ahmednoor described the killing of giraffes as "a blow to the important measures taken by the community to conserve rare and unique species and a wake-up call to continue supporting conservation efforts," reports The Independent.
After the killing of the mother and the baby, there is only one white giraffe, a single male specimen. The young was born last August and formed a family of three, of which only the male remains.
These unique animals inherited their bright white fur from a condition known as leucism that inhibits the pigmentation of some skin cells.
According to the criteria of The Trust Project
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