White Giraffes Stunned Onlookers When They Made An Ultra-Rare Appearance In Kenya

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White Giraffes Stunned Onlookers When They Made An Ultra-Rare Appearance In Kenya

Forbes

You may have heard of infamous April the giraffe, but there's a new mother in town and she's got all eyes on her.

When reports started to surface that locals had spotted a rare white baby giraffe and its mother strolling in the Ishaqbini conservancy in Kenya, specialists raced to to see for themselves.

Most giraffes have a lovely brown and white pattern, but locals swear that these giraffes were entirely white!

Could this really be a pair of albino giraffes? Or something else...

When animal experts got to the park, they didn't have to drive far to spot these incredible beauties!

Right before them stood the elegant "white giraffe" and her baby - just a few yards from their car. As they approached, the mother began to pace back and forth while she signaled to her baby to hide behind the bushes.

A rare leucistic white giraffe and her calf spotted in KenyaYouTube Screenshot: Eric Mack

As the researchers watched, they noticed that there was something unique about both giraffes that told them these weren't albinos.

Look closely at the picture below - do you see it?

The "white" baby on the far left of the frame still has some faint brown spots. He and his mother are actually leucistic giraffes.

This means that they have a condition called leucism that causes partial loss of pigmentation. It results in white, pale or patchy coloring of the skin, hair feathers, scales or cuticle.

Unlike albinism, it doesn't affect their eyes. It is also caused by a reduction in multiple types of pigment - not just melanin.

The only two known sightings of rare white giraffes have been made in Kenya and Tanzania - the first one being spotted in January in Tarangire National park in Tanzania.

Dr. Abdullahi Ali, Programme Director and Founder of Hirola Conservation Programme in Kenya vowed to protect the snowy white giraffes.

"Nature is always stunning and continue(s) to surprise humanity!" he said. "These rare snow white giraffes shocked many locals including myself but these gave us renewed energy to protect and save our unique wildlife."

[h/t Hirola Conservation / Forbes]