Kenyans are yet to come to terms with the news of the killing of a rare white female giraffe together with her calf by poachers at the Ishaqbini Hirola Conservancy in Garissa County.
The news broke on Tuesday where the conservancy’s manager Mohammed Ahmednoor in a statement said that the carcasses were found by rangers and community members.
Ahmednoor while terming the incident as sad and a big loss for Kenya added that the death of the white giraffe is a call for more to be done in conservation.
“This is a very sad day for the community of Ijara and Kenya as a whole. We are the only community in the world who are custodians of the white giraffe. Its killing is a blow to tremendous steps taken by the community to conserve rare and unique species and a wakeup call for continued support to conservation efforts,” Mr Ahmednoor stated.
He said the death of the white giraffe is a big blow to researchers and Garissa as tourists from different parts of the world visited the conservancy to see the giraffe.
“This is a long term loss given that genetics studies and research which were significant investment into the area by researchers, has now gone to the drain. Further to this, the white giraffe was a big boost to tourism in the area,” he added.
The white female giraffe took the world by storm in 2017 when it was first spotted at the conservancy. It treated the world to another moment of awe after giving birth to a white calf.
The white skin in the giraffe is caused by a condition known as leucism.
A 2016 report by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature places giraffes among the most vulnerable animals to poaching which could lead to their extinction.