Conservationists in Kenya have confirmed that two rare white giraffes have been killed by poachers.
The carcasses of the giraffes – a female and her calf – were found after officials set out to trace them following fears that they had been killed.
After they had not been seen for nearly three months, report began circulating online that they had been killed. But the spokesperson of the Kenyan Wildlife Service, Ngugi Gecaga, told the BBC that “we can only confirm they are dead when we spot the carcasses. The area is quit expansive and they roam freely.”
A search party located their carcasses at a village in Masalani district on Tuesday. The manager of the Ishaqbini-Hirola Community Conservancy said their carcasses had signs of gunshot wounds. The killing of the rare giraffes leaves only one white giraffe – a male calf — in the whole of Kenya. Search is still on for the last white giraffe.
Reacting to the killing of the giraffes, a twitter user, Ali AwDoll said:
“The rare and dazzling white giraffe and her calf in Ijara, Garissa County were killed. Some say AlShabab killed it for the game meat, others say a neighbouring community from Tana River killed it over conservancy funds brawl. Either way, it’s heart-rending that they are no more!”
The white giraffes became popular in 2017 when a video of them was shared online.
According to the National Geographic, white giraffes likely suffer from a genetic condition called leucism, which inhibits pigmentation in skin cells but allows other organs, like eyes, to be dark coloured.
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