A baby giraffe was born without spots last month. The birth took place at Brights Zoo in Tennessee. She is the only known solid-colored giraffe in in the world. And unlike her mother with regular markings, this unmarked giraffe is an anomaly. She is about 6 feet tall and is expected to grow to a height of about 15 feet. In other rare occasions sometimes the baby giraffes are born with brown spots. But a reticulated giraffe, one with no spots, is one-of-a-kind known to nature.
Zookeepers at the zoo say as far as giraffe experts say she is the only one in the world. There was one report in the 1970s in Japan of a giraffe born without spots.
The zoo reports that she had no problem integrating into the herd: “She was immediately accepted by the entire giraffe tower. They treat her as they see her no different than any other giraffe born here at the zoo.”
Obviously the zoo and its visitors are excited. The public was called on to vote on a possible name via the zoo Facebook page. The options and their meanings in Swahili were:
