A rare white giraffe in Tanzania could be a target for poachers.
I don’t work for Donald Trump, so I’m not going to say that I only like things that are white. I will say though, that I love albino men, the color of freshly fallen snow (before it becomes a soup of humanity’s filth), and albino animals.
This giraffe named Omo technically isn’t albino, she just has a genetic skin condition, but she’s adorable just the same.
Spotted around Tarangire National Park in Tanzania, the giraffe’s condition means that her body surface cells are incapable of making pigment. An ecologist named Dr. Derek Lee, who founded the Wild Nature Institute said:
“Omo is leucistic, meaning many of the skin cells are incapable of making a pigment. Some are, so she is pale but not pure white, with red or blue eyes, as a true albino would be,” he explained.
“Omo is the only pale giraffe we are currently aware of, but we have also observed leucistic waterbuck, Cape buffalo and ostrich in Tarangire.
“Omo appears to get along with the other giraffes, she has always been seen with a large group of normally coloured giraffe, they don’t seem to mind her different colouring.”
READ MORE: Science: Albino Animals are Cuter Than Regular Animals
Conservationists are worried Omo will be targeted by poachers for her coloration, but hopefully spreading the word that she is alive and well via the Internet will detract any politicians from getting wild ideas about white giraffe-skin rugs.
