On July 31, 2023, a unique giraffe was born at the Blades Zoo in Tennessee, USA, named Kipekee, which means "unique". We know that giraffes all have unique markings on their bodies. Different species of giraffes have different markings, and even the same species has different markings.
Some are square, some are irregular, some have smooth edges, and some have fine lines like leaves.
Patterns can be said to be the unique identity card of a giraffe.
However,This giraffe actually has no "ID card" and is brown all over without any markings. It is called "spotless" and "the rarest" giraffe in the world by foreign media.
According to records, there are only two such giraffes.
The first one was born in 1972 in a zoo in Japan and was named Toshiko, and this one is the rare second one.
Many people find it difficult to understand what the fuss is about not having markings. Is it rarer than being albino?
In fact, this is really the case.There are currently three recorded giraffes that are all white, one more than those without spots.
They are located in a protected area in Kenya. Unfortunately, 2 of them are a mother and son or a mother and daughter. They have been hunted by poachers, and now there is only one white giraffe left in the world.
What does the lack of spots mean to this giraffe?
Although giraffes have various spots, they are not randomly grown. Research shows that the baby giraffe’s spots are inherited from its mother.
In 2018, zoologist Derek Lee and his team published an article in the academic journal "PeerJ". They believed that many aspects of giraffe spots are heritable.
Since 2011, they have been collecting photos of giraffe mothers and their babies in the wild, then using a recognition software to analyze the characteristics of the spots.
During the analysis, they divided the characteristics of the spots into 11 dimensions, including roundness, color, size, number, smoothness, etc., and analyzed these to determine whether and how much inheritance exists between mother and offspring.
The results show thatBaby giraffes do inherit the shape of their spots from their mother, but the most obvious inherited traits are roundness and smoothness.
Based on observations over the past few years, they also found that baby giraffes with larger spots and irregularly shaped spots have a higher survival rate.
This means that spots are very important to giraffes. As for what functions it has, scientists have also given their own theories.
Social essentials
Unique markings are a unique identity symbol of giraffes, and researchers use their markings to distinguish giraffes.
Giraffes themselves use markings to identify other species.
Because spots are passed down from mother to offspring, you can find your family members by identifying specific markings.
When making friends, they will also give priority to individuals with similar markings. Studies have shown that female giraffes are more likely to date females with similar markings.
camouflage
There is no need to explain this function too much. In nature, many animals camouflage themselves through stripes or markings.
adjust temperature
Studies have shown that there is a separate vascular body under each dark plaque.
The vascular body is supplied with blood by an artery with a diameter of about 0.9mm. It radiates out many fine branches like leaf veins. These branches are connected to the large veins at the edge of the plaque (diameter 1.66mm), thus forming a vascular body unit.
The vascular bodies of plaques are connected through blood vessels to form the entire circulatory system.
The biggest anatomical benefit of such a structure is to regulate body temperature. If the temperature is high, small radiating branches are used to dissipate heat. If the temperature is low, heat can be retained as long as such a unique blood vessel structure is closed.
Combining these functions, we can conclude:If it had lived in the wild, this spotless giraffe would never have reached adulthood.
Therefore, zoologists recommend keeping this giraffe in captivity for life.
Even the lions are helpless, but the giraffe cannot escape the hands of humans and is in danger
Although giraffes are vegetarian, almost no one dares to mess with them in nature.
Its biggest enemy is the lions. However, facing such an opponent, the giraffe can still escape calmly despite being outnumbered.
In Africa, a 6-on-1 fight was observed, with the giraffe eventually escaping safely.
As the top predator in Africa, lions do have the ability to hunt giraffes, but they generally do not dare to mess with underage, old or sickly individuals, and adult giraffes.
Because it is very difficult to kill an adult giraffe, and more importantly, it is not cost-effective!
Giraffes are the tallest animals on land, and it is almost impossible to choke them with a chokehold.
The most common tactic used by lions is to jump on the back and bite, or bite the hind legs. At this time, the giraffe can actually do little except willingly be bitten. Either shake the body hard to try to shake the lion down, or kick the lion behind it with its hind legs.
The competition between them is more about endurance. As long as the giraffe does not fall to the ground, the lion will not be able to eat this "food". As long as the giraffe persists long enough, the lions will naturally give up and turn to other foods.
Therefore, in the wild, lions will not attack adult, healthy giraffes unless absolutely necessary.
However, this kind of giraffe, which even lions dare not easily offend, has gradually become extinct under the influence of humans.
Scientific research shows thatIn the past three decades, at least 40% of giraffes have disappeared.
Although humans have taken protective measures, the current situation is still serious. The estimated number of reticulated giraffes in the wild has dropped to 16,000. The rarest is the northern giraffe, with an estimated population of only 5,900.
In the near future, it may be difficult for humans to find this animal again.
Human beings bear the main responsibility for all this. The destruction of the environment and frenzied poaching just for meat are the main reasons for the extinction of giraffes.
at last
Overall, judging from the current giraffe situation, this patchless giraffe is both unfortunate and lucky.
Unfortunately, it has no spot protection, and its chances of survival in the wild are very low. It will live under human "protection" for the rest of its life. To put it nicely, it is in captivity, but in reality it is almost the same as "imprisonment". It can no longer have a free life.
Fortunately, the survival of wild giraffes is in danger, and some species have become endangered species. Human captivity can protect this small animal.