Rare white giraffe photographed in Africa

It’s a giraffe, but it’s missing one key thing – the spots.

A rare white Rothschild giraffe has been spotted and photographed in a Kenyan wildlife refuge, The Telegraph reports. Only a few hundred are believed to be left in the wild, with the white version being the rarest.

"I finally managed to photograph the giraffe at close quarters and immediately wondered if it was albino or leucistic,” said Jamie Manuel, the photograph, of the Northern Rangelands Trust conservation group.

Manuel said he was part of a team that was able to track the animal down with the help of herders in the refuge, who found it along with around 20 other giraffes that had spots.

"The rangers were thrilled to get a closer look, and were pleased to see that the animal looked healthy and was feeding well,” he told The Telegraph.

The giraffe is believed to suffer from leucism, a condition in which there is partial loss of pigmentation in an animal.

A different white giraffe named “Omo” made headlines in January after being photographed in a national park in Tanzania.

“Her chances of surviving to adulthood are good but adult giraffes are regularly poached for bush meat, and her coloration might make her a target,” said Derek Lee, the ecologist who photographed the animal.

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