The new calf joins a growing herd at Bright’s, following another baby giraffe that was born just weeks before. Around 16,000 reticulated giraffes remain in the wild, according to the Giraffe Conservation Foundation, a 50% decline in the last three-and-a-half decades from when there were around 36,000 wild reticulated giraffes living on the continent. Zoo founder Tony Bright said that the weeks-old calf is casting a “much-needed spotlight” on giraffe conservation. It takes a large network of vessels and 25-pound hearts to keep the world’s tallest land mammal on its hooves. The spots function primarily as camouflage in the savannas of northern Kenya where they live and graze.Īnd underneath each spot is a “sophisticated system of blood vessels,” according to the Giraffe Conservation Foundation, a nonprofit that focuses on sustaining and growing the wild giraffe population across Africa. The word “reticulated” refers to the giraffe’s network of polygonal brown spots, broken up by veins of creamy off-white, according to the Denver Zoo. The zoo said she might be the “only solid-colored reticulated giraffe living anywhere on the planet.” (The last spotless giraffe in captivity was likely a calf born at Tokyo’s Ueno Zoo in 1972, CBS News reported.) The calf is a reticulated giraffe, one of four giraffe species.
The 6-foot wonder was born sans spots on July 31 at Bright’s Zoo, a privately owned facility in Limestone, and made her public debut this month. She doesn’t have a name yet, but she’s already made a big splash among her herd – she’s a giraffe without patches. There’s a brand new spotless superstar on the scene at a Tennessee zoo.
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