Current:Home > FinanceSpotless giraffe seen in Namibia, weeks after one born at Tennessee zoo -OceanicInvest
Spotless giraffe seen in Namibia, weeks after one born at Tennessee zoo
View
Date:2025-04-14 20:22:25
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! (27935)
Related
- California DMV apologizes for license plate that some say mocks Oct. 7 attack on Israel
- Tropical Storm Pilar heads toward El Salvador and is expected to bring heavy rain to Central America
- Open enrollment starts this week for ACA plans. Here's what's new this year
- Surge in interest rates and a cloudier economic picture to keep Federal Reserve on sidelines
- Trump suggestion that Egypt, Jordan absorb Palestinians from Gaza draws rejections, confusion
- The UAW says its strike ‘won things no one thought possible’ from automakers. Here’s how it fared
- 2 Georgia State University students, 2 others shot near campus in downtown Atlanta
- Federal charge says former North Dakota lawmaker traveled to Prague with intent to rape minor
- Louvre will undergo expansion and restoration project, Macron says
- Rangers' Jon Gray delivers in World Series Game 3. Now we wait on medical report.
Ranking
- Angelina Jolie nearly fainted making Maria Callas movie: 'My body wasn’t strong enough'
- Hundreds storm airport in Russia in antisemitic riot over arrival of plane from Israel
- Police investigating alleged robbery after Colorado players say jewelry taken at Rose Bowl
- How The Golden Bachelor's Susan Noles Really Feels About Those Kris Jenner Comparisons
- Most popular books of the week: See what topped USA TODAY's bestselling books list
- A North Carolina woman and her dad enter pleas in the beating death of her Irish husband
- 12 Things From Goop's $100K+ Holiday Gift Guide We'd Actually Buy
- UN agency in Gaza says urgent ceasefire is `a matter of life and death’ for millions of Palestinians
Recommendation
The FTC says 'gamified' online job scams by WhatsApp and text on the rise. What to know.
Autoworkers are the latest to spotlight the power of US labor. What is the state of unions today?
In the shadow of loss, a mother’s long search for happiness
King Charles III is in Kenya for a state visit, his first to a Commonwealth country as king
Rylee Arnold Shares a Long
We're spending $700 million on pet costumes in the costliest Halloween ever
Stellantis expects North American strike to cost it 750 million euros in third-quarter profits
Matthew Perry's family releases statement thanking fans following star's death