90 kilos, 1.80 meters at one month old, and not a single spot anywhere on her body. 🦒 Kipekee came into the world on July 31, 2023 at Brights Zoo in Limestone, Tennessee, and from day one she broke all the rules: she is the first spotless reticulated giraffe recorded in more than 50 years, and the first documented in the United States. The last known case was in 1972, at Ueno Zoo, Tokyo.
Her coat is solid and uniform brown, with no trace of the pattern that makes giraffes so recognizable. The zoo’s experts confirmed that she is completely healthy and integrated normally with the rest of the herd. The cause: probably a genetic mutation, although no scientist has been able to identify the specific gene. It is not albinism or leucism — it is something so rare that it does not even have an official name yet. 🧬
The zoo opened a public vote on Facebook to choose her name, and in just one day it received more than 17,000 votes. The winner was Kipekee, which means ‘unique’ in Swahili. Hard to find a more accurate name. ✨