The world’s only spotless giraffe has been born at a zoo in Tennessee.
The female giraffe was born last month at Bright’s Zoo and is solidly brown and has none of the spots that are associated with the long-necked animals.
In a press release, Bright’s Zoo stated: “Giraffe experts believe she is the only solid-coloured reticulated giraffe living anywhere on the planet.”
According to the Giraffe Conservation Foundation, reticulated giraffes – which typically have brown and orange spots – were listed as endangered in 2018.
The zoo’s director David Bright said that the last known record of a spotless giraffe was at Ueno Zoo in Tokyo back in 1972 and founder Tony Bright thinks that rare animal has put a “much-needed spotlight” on the plight of the creatures.
He told the local TV news station WCYB: “The international coverage of our patternless baby giraffe has created a much-needed spotlight on giraffe conservation.
“Wild populations are silently slipping into extinction, with 40 per cent of the wild giraffe population lost in just the last three decades.”
