Last year, two rare reticulated giraffes drew global buzz last year after they were spotted at the Ishaqbini Community Conservancy in Garissa.
The white giraffes suffer from leucism, a genetic condition that inhibits skin cell pigmentation and has led to several white-skinned animals across the world.
The tawny hirola is one of the most endangered antelope species.
Under the sun-bathed savanna grasslands of Garissa, two of the world’s most rare animals, the white giraffes and hirola, graze peacefully with the rest, oblivious of the human interest animal lovers hold in them.
Last year, two rare reticulated giraffes drew global buzz last year after they were spotted at the Ishaqbini Community Conservancy in Garissa.
The white giraffes suffer from leucism, a genetic condition that inhibits skin cell pigmentation and has led to several white-skinned animals across the world. In many parts of the world, white animals such as lions, peacock, moose are hunted down.
In Kenya, there are only three white giraffes that have been spotted so far while a third one was seen in Omo is in Tarangire National Park in neighbouring Tanzania.
Despite the country having some of the most rare animals such as white giraffes and hirola antelopes, many Kenyan tourists miss the incredible moments of seeing these endangered species pacing in the jungle.
“Kenyans make inquiries about the species, but poor road infrastructure and long distances have limited visitor numbers to the conservancy,” Shadrack Ngene, head of species department at Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) recently told BDLife.
He says that researchers are more interested in the rare species than tourists.
The tawny hirola, for instance, is one of the most endangered antelope species, with their numbers slightly above 450, a staggering fall from the over 14,000 recorded in the 1970s.
It draws its name from arawla, arrola or arawle, which means yellowish-brown in Somali. Hirolas are sandy-coloured antelopes, weighing between 80 to 110 kilogrammes.
Their heavily-ringed beautiful horns turn to lethal weapons during fights. They are found in the 533 kilometres-expansive Arawale National Reserve, a government-designated conservation zone and Ishaqbini, both in Garissa.
Mr Ngene said loss of vast grasslands, diseases and drought pose the greatest danger to hirola—one of Kenya’s most endangered ungulates.
A combination of overgrazing by livestock, drought and climatic change have led to about 75 per cent loss of potentially suitable hirola habitat since 1985.
Cattle, sheep, goats and camel from the Somali pastoralists have drastically reduced the Chloris and Digiatta grass species that are one of hirola’s favourite meal.
Livestock diseases can be transmitted when they graze together also pose a threat to the Hirola numbers.
Outbreak of the rinderpest disease in the 80s was one of the reasons why the antelope numbers declined.
Like the white giraffes, visitors keen to see the rare Hirola have also been hampered by poor road network coupled with long distances.
‘‘To save the antelope from extinction, KWS will launch the National Recovery Plan for hirola later this year,’’ Mr Ndere said.
