Current:Home > InvestSpotless giraffe seen in Namibia, weeks after one born at Tennessee zoo -WorldMoney
Spotless giraffe seen in Namibia, weeks after one born at Tennessee zoo
View
Date:2025-04-16 05:46:54
A rare spotless giraffe was spotted in the wild mere weeks after one was born at a Tennessee zoo, a conservation organization announced in a press release Monday.
The Angolan giraffe was photographed on a private game reserve in central Namibia, according to the Giraffe Conservation Foundation.
In July, a spotless giraffe was born at Brights Zoo in Limestone, Tennessee, in what David Bright, the zoo's director, told "Good Morning America" was "definitely a shock."
MORE: American caver hoisted to safety after 12 days in Turkish cave
Following a naming contest, where the zoo asked the public to name the giraffe, the animal was named Kipekee, which means "unique" in Swahili. Bright said Kipekee is "doing well and growing."
"This is our first one without a pattern," said Bright, who has been the director at the private, family-run zoo for the last two decades.
A reticulated giraffe's spotted pattern typically develops in the womb, so giraffes are usually born with their spots clearly visible, according to Bright.
Giraffes are facing a "silent extinction," the Giraffe Conservation Foundation said in a press release, saying there are only 117,000 wild giraffes in Africa.
MORE: Rare giraffe born without spots gets 'unique' name
"That means that there is only one giraffe for every four African [elephants] remaining in the wild. [Giraffes] have already become extinct in at least seven African countries," the conservation organization said. "And, to make matters even worse for these iconic animals, we now know that there are four distinct species of giraffe in Africa."
Before the spotless giraffe in Namibia and at the zoo in Tennessee, the last recorded brown spotless giraffe was at a zoo in Japan in 1972, according to the Giraffe Conservation Foundation.
veryGood! (54795)
Related
- Newly elected West Virginia lawmaker arrested and accused of making terroristic threats
- Sports Illustrated publisher Arena Group fires CEO following AI controversy
- Gifts for the Go-Getters, Trendsetters & People Who Are Too Busy to Tell You What They Want
- Hilary Duff announces she's pregnant with baby No. 4: 'Buckle up buttercups'
- Bill Belichick's salary at North Carolina: School releases football coach's contract details
- US proposes replacing engine-housing parts on Boeing jets like one involved in passenger’s death
- How the presidents of Harvard, Penn and MIT testified to Congress on antisemitism
- Sports Illustrated publisher Arena Group fires CEO following AI controversy
- Trump invites nearly all federal workers to quit now, get paid through September
- Pew survey: YouTube tops teens’ social-media diet, with roughly a sixth using it almost constantly
Ranking
- Appeals court scraps Nasdaq boardroom diversity rules in latest DEI setback
- Natalia Grace, Orphan Accused of Trying to Kill Adoptive Parents, Speaks Out in Chilling Docuseries
- Colorado cattle industry sues over wolf reintroduction on the cusp of the animals’ release
- Are Ye and Ty Dolla $ign releasing their 'Vultures' album? What to know amid controversy
- Macy's says employee who allegedly hid $150 million in expenses had no major 'impact'
- Horoscopes Today, December 12, 2023
- Caitlin Clark signs NIL with Gatorade. How does Iowa star stack up to other star athletes?
- College football bowl game opt-outs: Who's skipping bowls games to prepare for NFL draft?
Recommendation
The company planning a successor to Concorde makes its first supersonic test
For The Eras Tour, Taylor Swift takes a lucrative and satisfying victory lap
Brooklyn Nine-Nine Stars Honor Their Captain Andre Braugher After His Death
Congo and rebel groups agree a 3-day cease-fire ahead of the presidential vote, US says
Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow owns a $3 million Batmobile Tumbler
Why Bella Thorne Is Trying to Hide Battery Packs in Her Hair for Mark Emms Wedding
Plaintiffs in a Georgia redistricting case are asking a judge to reject new Republican-proposed maps
How the remixed American 'cowboy' became the breakout star of 2023