とても珍しい白いキリンが、タンザニアのタランギレ国立公園で発見された。
名前はオモ。白いキリンは非常に希少であり、地球上に唯一存在するキリンかもしれないと伝えられている。
オモが最初にみつかったのは2015年。2016年1月25日時点でも生存が確認されている。
「生後1年は、ライオンやヒョウ、ハイエナといった天敵に狙われやすい最も危険な期間です。オモはその1年を生き延びました」と野生生物保護に携わるNPO「ワイルド・ネイチャー・インスティテュート（WNI）」の創設者デレク・リー氏がテレグラフ紙に語った。
しかし、まだ安全とは言えない。
リー氏は、「大人になる確率は高いと考えられます。しかし、大人のキリンも食用として密猟されることがあります。オモは白い色のせいで標的になりやすいかもしれません」と述べた。
2015年4月に投稿されたWNIのブログによれば、オモはアルビノではなくリューシスティックだ。リューシスティックの個体は、細胞の一部が色素を作らないという。
「アルビノとリューシスティックの違いの一つは、アルビノの個体は目が赤いことです。アルビノの場合、目を含むすべての部位でメラニン色素（黒色色素）が存在しません。目にもメラニンが無いため、血管の色がそのまま見えて赤色になるのです」とブログには書かれている。
「現時点で、オモは私たちが知る唯一の白いキリンです。しかしタランギレ国立公園ではリューシスティックのウォーターバック、アフリカスイギュウ、ダチョウが確認されています」とリーは述べている。
なお、オモという名前は、現地のガイドが有名なタンザニアの洗剤にちなんで名付けられた。
ハフポストUS版に掲載された記事を翻訳しました。
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キリン、色んな表情
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A giraffe licks its lips at the Houston Zoo Thursday, Dec. 1, 2011, in Houston. The Houston Zoo started its Gift of Grub campaign to raise money to help feed the more than 6,000 animals at the zoo. It costs more than $600,000 a year to feed the animals, and due to the abnormal weather conditions across the country the cost of feeding the animals has gone up. (AP Photo/Houston Chronicle, Johnny Hanson) (credit:AP)
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Nora, a Rothschild giraffe, stares at the camera at Prague Zoo in Prague, Czech Republic, Friday, Feb. 17, 2012. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek) (credit:AP)
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Baby giraffes \'Dorle\' (R) and \'Jule\' stand in the enclosure at the Tierpark Friedrichsfelde zoo in Berlin, on July 24, 2012. \'Dorle\' was born at the zoo on July 2, 2012, \'Jule\' in mid-June 2012. AFP PHOTO / BRITTA PEDERSEN (credit:Getty)
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A baby giraffe, only a few days old, stands next to her mother Santana in an enclosure at the Budapest Zoo and Botanical Garden on February 24, 2012. The 170 cm tall baby giraffe was born a week ago. AFP PHOTO / ATTILA KISBENEDEK (credit:Getty)
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Visitors look at a giraffe at the Duisburg Zoo on August 8, 2011 in Duisburg, western Germany. AFP PHOTO / PATRIK STOLLARZ (credit:Getty)
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A baby giraffe, only a few days old, shares a moment of tenderness with her mother Santana in an enclosure at the Budapest Zoo and Botanical Garden on February 24, 2012. The 170 cm tall baby giraffe was born a week ago. AFP PHOTO / ATTILA KISBENEDEK (credit:Getty)
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Giraffe bull \'Lengai\', left, cuddles with Giraffe lady \'Limber\', right, during warm temperatures in the Erfurt zoo, central Germany, Friday, Aug. 3, 2012. (AP Photo/Jens Meyer) (credit:AP)
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Baby giraffe \'Dorle\' stands in the enclosure at the zoo Friedrichsfelde in Berlin, on July 24, 2012. The calf \'Dorle\' was born on July 2, 2012. AFP PHOTO / BRITTA PEDERSEN (credit:Getty)
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A male giraffe calf Ng\'ombe stands in front of his mother Nyiri at the zoo in Cologne, Germany, Friday, Jan. 20, 2012. Ng\'ombe was born on Jan. 7, 2012. (AP Photo/dapd, Juergen Schwarz) (credit:AP)
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The baby giraffe \'Dorle\' (L) is nudged by giraffe \'Jule\' at the zoo Friedrichsfelde in Berlin, on July 24, 2012. The calf \'Dorle\' was born on July 2, 2012. AFP PHOTO / BRITTA PEDERSEN (credit:Getty)
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A giraffe stands in its enclosure at the Duisburg Zoo on August 8, 2011 in Duisburg, western Germany. AFP PHOTO / PATRIK STOLLARZ (credit:Getty)
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Rothschild giraffe female calfs Dorle, right, and Jule, background left, stand next to each other in the enclosure at \"Tierpark\" Zoo in Berlin, Germany, Tuesday, July 24, 2012. Dorle was born July 2, 2012, just 20 days after her half-sister Jule. (AP Photo/Gero Breloer) (credit:AP)
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Vincek, a 6 day old Rothschild giraffe, is presented to the media at Prague Zoo in Prague, Czech Republic, Friday, Feb. 17, 2012. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek) (credit:AP)
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This photo provided by the Chicago Zoological Society shows, three giraffes romping around their outdoor habitat at the Brookfield Zoo, Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2012 in Brookfield, Ill. With the weather in the Chicago area feeling more like spring, the giraffes were given access to their outdoor habitat today as temperatures rose into the 50\'s. (AP Photo/Chicago Zoological Society, Jim Schulz) (credit:AP)
Giraffe(34 of34)
Mature giraffes check cars for treats at Lion Country Safari in West Palm Beach, Fla., Friday, Nov. 4, 2011. Lion Country Safari welcomed the birth of two giraffe calves last week, bringing the total count born up to 58. The two calves, born on Oct. 22 and Oct. 24, stood 6 feet 5 inches and 6 feet 1 inch at birth. They will be housed in the maternity pen for three months with their mothers. (AP Photo/J Pat Carter) (credit:AP)
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