Giraffes are the tallest animals in the world, reaching a height of more than 18 feet. This stunning giraffe has never been photoshopped, it’s real! The 15-month-old beauty whose skin seems to have been bleached suffers from ʟᴇᴜ.ᴄɪsᴍ. It is a condition that results in a partial loss of pigmentation.
One guide named the giraffe Omo after a popular local detergent brand.
Experts from the Wild Nature Institute first saw Oмo last year.
“We were lucky enough to see her again this January, almost exactly a year later,” the Institute explained in its registration post. “We are delighted that she is still alive and well.”
It was spotted in Tarangire National Park in Tanzania by Dr. Derek Lee, founder and scientist of the Wild Nature Institute.
“Because she seems to get along well with the other giraffes, she has always been seen with a large group of normally colored giraffes; they don’t seem to care about their different color,” he explained. “We and our partners are working on giraffe conservation and anti-ᴘᴏᴀᴄʜɪɴɢ to help give Oмo and her relatives a smaller chance to survive. We hope that she has a long life and that one day she will have her own children.”
The African Wildlife Foundation estimates that the species has lost 40 percent of its population in just 30 years, and recent reports show that ᴘᴏ.ᴀᴄʜɪɴɢ and wildlife trafficking are contributing to this decline.
There are more than 68,000 giraffes in the world, the foundation said. The International Union for Conservation of Nature classifies the species as ʋulneraƄle.