Another baby, already a star. A solid-colored giraffe without the distinctive spots of its species was born at an American zoo, an extremely rare event, the park said Tuesday.
“An unblemished giraffe is very rare,” David Bright, director of Brights Zoo in Tennessee, told AFP. No such birth has been registered in Tokyo since 1972, he said.
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The little animal, who is still 1.80 meters tall and covered in brown hair, was born on July 31st. Since then, this female has thrived like no other “thanks to the care of her doting mother and the zoo’s professional staff,” according to a press release from the facility.
The spots of the giraffes are mainly used for camouflage in the vegetation. On the contrary, this unique piece attracts media attention around the world.
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The zoo hopes that the numerous articles dedicated to the birth of this reticulated giraffe – as its subspecies is called – will help raise awareness of the threat to its species.
“Wild populations are silently plunging toward extinction, with 40% of the wild giraffe population lost in three decades,” Tony Bright, founder of Brights Zoo, warned in the statement.