Current:Home > StocksSpotless giraffe seen in Namibia, weeks after one born at Tennessee zoo -WealthPro Academy
Spotless giraffe seen in Namibia, weeks after one born at Tennessee zoo
View
Date:2025-04-18 06:56:32
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! (857)
Related
- Global Warming Set the Stage for Los Angeles Fires
- Rise of Energy-Saving LEDs in Lighting Market Seen as Unstoppable
- Family caregivers of people with long COVID bear an extra burden
- A Longchamp Resurgence Is Upon Us: Shop the Iconic Le Pliage Tote Bags Without Paying Full Price
- Meet the volunteers risking their lives to deliver Christmas gifts to children in Haiti
- We asked for wishes, you answered: Send leaders into space, free electricity, dignity
- Trisha Yearwood Shares How Husband Garth Brooks Flirts With Her Over Text
- Greenpeace Activists Avoid Felony Charges Following a Protest Near Houston’s Oil Port
- Backstage at New York's Jingle Ball with Jimmy Fallon, 'Queer Eye' and Meghan Trainor
- Which type of eye doctor do you need? Optometrists and ophthalmologists face off
Ranking
- The 401(k) millionaires club keeps growing. We'll tell you how to join.
- Cook Inlet Gas Leak Remains Unmonitored as Danger to Marine Life Is Feared
- Wisconsin’s Struggling Wind Sector Could Suffer Another Legislative Blow
- Iconic Forests Reaching Climate Tipping Points in American West, Study Finds
- Apple iOS 18.2: What to know about top features, including Genmoji, AI updates
- 'All the Beauty and the Bloodshed' chronicles Nan Goldin's career of art and activism
- Unplugged Natural Gas Leak Threatens Alaska’s Endangered Cook Inlet Belugas
- Don't let the cold weather ruin your workout
Recommendation
'Vanderpump Rules' star DJ James Kennedy arrested on domestic violence charges
Which type of eye doctor do you need? Optometrists and ophthalmologists face off
Trump’s EPA Halts Request for Methane Information From Oil and Gas Producers
Study Finds Rise in Methane in Pennsylvania Gas Country
SFO's new sensory room helps neurodivergent travelers fight flying jitters
Supreme Court rejects challenges to Indian Child Welfare Act, leaving law intact
Benzene Emissions on the Perimeters of Ten Refineries Exceed EPA Limits
Biden to receive AFL-CIO endorsement this week