Breaking News - Finalist in Nature's Best and A Spotless Giraffe!
I’m thrilled and honoured to learn that one of my elephant images was selected as Highly Honored in the Animal Antics Category for the Nature’s Best Photography International Awards. View this year’s finalist in the winner’s gallery here.
Highly Honoured Finalist in Nature’s Best Photography Animal Antics
More nature news was a headline announcing a “spotless” reticulated giraffe was born last month at Brights Zoon in Limestone, Tennessee. This unusual baby in the “buff” made headlines in the animal world. An all-brown giraffe was last seen at a Tokyo Zoo in 1972.
The zoo named the little brown giraffe Kipekee, which means “unique” in Swahili. A spotless giraffe had never been seen in the wild up to this point. As soon as this statement was headlined an unprecedented sighting occurred at Mount Etjo Safari Lodge, a private game reserve in central Namibia. Tour guide Eckart Demasius saw and photographed a solid-brown calf during a game drive on the roughly 90,000-acre reserve. Now there are two spotless giraffes running around in the buff!
A National Geographic article by Dina Fine Maron published on September 12th reported the following:
Sara Ferguson, a wildlife veterinarian and conservation health coordinator at the foundation, says the two recent spotless sightings are pure coincidence and that there’s no data to suggest this coloring is occurring more frequently than it had in the past.
This finding is just another example of “the weird way the world works” she says, adding that she’s “so amazed and pleased there is so much more to learn and discover about giraffe.”
Rothschild Giraffe and calf. Giraffe Centre, Nairobi, Kenya
Apparently, the rare spotless coloring is likely due to some sort of mutation in one or more genes. There is no evidence of underlying medical issues, but it will be interesting to observe if the all-brown giraffe is at a disadvantage in the wild without its characteristic spotted camouflage.
Giraffes give birth standing up, requiring the newborn to fall almost 6’ to the ground. The average height at birth is about 6’ and the newborn weighs in about 140 lbs. That’s a big baby! A young calf can stand and run within an hour of birth and will double its height in the first year.
Different species of giraffes have different spots. Like snowflakes every giraffe patten is unique.
Maasai Giraffe pattern
Reticulated Giraffe pattern
Spots or no spots, don’t you agree giraffes are extraordinary and beautiful animals? Save Giraffes Now is on a mission to save giraffes from extinction so they can live freely and safely in the woodlands and savannahs of their native Africa. Visit their website to see what SGN is doing to support giraffes.
I received my new iPhone case this week and love it! Check out the options in my online store for only $29. Yes, there is a giraffe design :) A percentage of all online sales goes to support African wildlife and the people who co-exist with them.
