White giraffes feared dead in Kenya

Two white giraffes are missing, feared dead, having not been seen by officials from the Kenyan Wildlife Service (KWS) since the weekend.

The pair, a calf and mother, are extremely rare, and were last spotted in the county of Garissa, in the north-east of the country.

Officials from the KWS attempted to alleviate public concerns: “We can only confirm they are dead when we spot the carcasses. The area is quite expansive and they roam freely”, KWS spokesperson, Ngui Gecaga told reporters.

Though unofficial reports and sightings of the two giraffe carcasses are starting to emerge, the latest of which came from the manager of the Ishaqbini-Hirola Community Conservancy, Mr Abdi.

He said a search party located the carcasses in a village in the Masalani district on Tuesday, and that they had both suffered gunshot wounds.

If the KWS confirm these reports, there will only be one white giraffe left in Kenya, a male calf.

Residents have been active on social media speculating as to who might have killed the mother and calf, with many pointing the finger at Islamic terror group al-Shabaab. 

According to National Geographic, white giraffes suffer from a genetic condition that does not allow pigmentation in the skin, called leucism.

Photo: Twitter/Ali AwDoll