A pair of rare white giraffes has been discovered in Kenya.
To the delight of locals and conservationists, a pair of rare white giraffes have been discovered in Kenya!
A mother and baby of reticulated giraffes have an inherited condition called leucism, which prevents the pigmentation of skin cells.
Unlike albinism, animals with leucism continue to develop dark pigment in their soft tissues, which explains the dark eyes and different coloration of white giraffes.
The giraffes were discovered in the Ishakbini Hirola Game Reserve in Kenya’s Garissa district after local residents alerted conservationists.
Two white giraffes in Kenya discovered in early August by rangers from the Hirola Conservation Program have an inherited condition known as leucism.
This rare disease causes a partial loss of pigment in the animal’s skin, hair, or scales, but not in other organs such as the eyes.
Other animals are white because they have albinism, a congenital disorder that prevents color reproduction in skin, hair, scales, and eyes.
As a result, the eyes of leucistic animals may be black, but the eyes of albino animals are usually pink.
(The pink color comes from the blood vessels inside the eyes, which are visible through the colorless iris.)
