Poachers kill 2 rare white giraffes in Kenya's sanctuary

Two rare white giraffes that lived in northeast Kenya’s Ishaqbini Hirola Community Conservancy in Garissa County, were killed by poachers a few months ago.

The news of the death of the female giraffe and her calf emerged on March 10 after conservationists and forest rangers found their carcass in the Ijara Town area. An analysis of the skeletal remains of the near-fantastical creatures revealed that they were killed by armed poachers about four months ago.

With the death of the two white giraffes, a lone bull birthed by the deceased female now remains to amuse beholders.

While the Kenyan Wildlife Service is investigating the case at the moment and trying to nab the poachers at the soonest, the incident brings to fore the larger challenge wildlife conservationists face from poachers.

Lamenting the loss of the star attraction so the east African nation, Mohammed Ahmednoor, manager of Ishaqbini Hirola, said: “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 the tremendous steps taken by the community to conserve rare and unique species and a wake-up call for continued support to conservation efforts.”
Ahmednoor noted that the rare white giraffes proved a big boost to tourism effort, which is likely to be hit by the news. He added: “This is a long-term loss given that genetics studies and research which were significant investment into the area by researchers has now gone down the drain.”