Rare white giraffes in nature

The pale white giraffe that stands out among the herd can easily become the target of poaching .

Omo is a 15-month-old giraffe with a lack of skin pigmentation (leucism) that leads to only some colored skin cells. Unlike albino that makes animals have red eyes and whites completely, Omo has only pale skin color.

Dr. Derek Lee, the ecologist and founder of the Wild Nature Institute, discovered the giraffe wandering in the Tarangire National Park in Tanzania along with the herd.

White giraffe in Tarangire National Park, Gambia.(Photo: Derek Lee).

" Omo is the only pale skin giraffe we ​​discovered, but we also observed the loss of pigmentation in water antelopes, African wild buffalo and ostriches in Tarangire. Omo seems It's always in harmony with other giraffes, it's always in the same group of normal giraffes and they don't seem to notice Omo's different skin color, "the Mirror yesterday quoted Lee.

"Omo is 15 months old. He has just survived the first year, the most dangerous time for young giraffes due to the risk of being a lion's prey, jaguar and hyena. Its maturity is quite high, but skin color can make Omo more vulnerable to poachers , " Lee said.

The Wild Nature Institute is conducting the largest research project of giraffes ever, using the natural spotting patterns of animals to identify each individual. Employees of the organization have recorded more than 2,100 giraffes in the Tarangire National Park.