2 rare white giraffes are slaughtered by poachers

NAIROBI, KENYA » A white female giraffe and her 7-monthold calf, whose rare pigmentation mesmerized wildlife enthusiasts around the world, have been killed by poachers in Kenya, officials said, illustrating the challenges of conservation and the persistent and devastating impact of poaching.

The deaths of the giraffes left just one of the unusually colored animals in the country’s wild, a bull, out of a family of three, conservancy officials said.

Mohammed Ahmednoor, manager of the Ishaqbini Hirola Community Conservancy in northeastern Kenya, where the giraffes lived, said that rangers had confirmed their deaths and that there were photographs of the skeletal remains.

“This is a very sad day for the community of Ijara and Kenya as a whole,” Ahmednoor said. “We are the only community in the world who are custodians of the white giraffe.

“Its killing is a blow to the tremendous steps taken by the community to conserve rare and unique species, and a wake-up call for continued support to conservation efforts,” he added.

Conservationists estimated from the state of the carcasses that the animals had been killed four months ago. The Kenya Wildlife Service said it was investigating the killings.

With their unique white hides, the female giraffe and her calf drew global attention when they were sighted grazing in 2017 by a villager. The giraffes did not have albinism but displayed the symptoms of a different genetic condition, known as leucism, in which animals often experience a partial loss of pigmentation.

The Giraffe Conservation Foundation estimates that the number of reticulated giraffes in the world, which includes the species found in Ishaqbini and across north and northeastern Kenya, has declined by more than 50% in the past three decades, to 15,780 in 2018.