A rare giraffe named Kipekee who was born WITHOUT a spot at the Tennessee Zoo – meaning ‘unique’ to the public as it got 40,000 votes in a Facebook poll

The world’s only flawless giraffe is now unique in both name and nature, according to an online poll of 40,000 people.

Kipekee, the Swahili word for unique, has been voted the new star at Brights Zoo in Limestone, Tennessee by the public.

Keepers were amazed when the reticulated giraffe baby was born on July 31 and showed none of its species’ distinctive spots or spots.

The owners asked the public to choose between Kipekee or three other Swahili names: Friyali, meaning extraordinary; Shakiri, meaning she is most beautiful; or Jamella, meaning “one of great beauty”.

“For many of the guests we spoke to, Kipekee was the easiest name a child could say,” zoo director David Bright said when announcing the poll results on NBC’s Today show.

This unnamed baby giraffe was born spotless on July 31 at Brights Zoo in Tennessee, making it the only known living brown spotless giraffe

Director David Bright with his new arrival and their mother at the Tennessee Zoo

The zoo says their now 6-foot-tall baby is “thriving” and they have begun showing him to visitors while he remains in his mother’s care.

While immaculate baby giraffes do exist, these tend to have white markings rather than the all-brown fur seen on new arrivals.

A giraffe with a similar coat was born in Tokyo in 1972, but Bright was willing to stick her head out and declare Kipekee the only one of her kind in the world.

“There are no other living giraffes of this color,” he told the show.

“She’s still very relaxed, curious about everything and looking at everything every day.”

The zoo, located about 80 miles east of Knoxville, now has an international star in its midst.

The poll revealed a narrow win for Kipekee, the “easiest to pronounce” of the four names

The zoo, located about 80 miles east of Knoxville, now has an international star in its midst

However, experts could not explain why the baby giraffe is such a color

The video shows the new calf playing and being cared for by its mother

Spots and patterns on a giraffe’s fur are used for camouflage in the wild, but they also typically sit on a concentrated area of ​​blood vessels that allow the animal to dissipate heat and regulate body temperature.

The global population of reticulated giraffes has dropped to just 38,000 and the zoo hopes the arrival of Kipekee will help draw attention to the plight of this species.

“Wild populations are silently dying out, with 40 percent of the wild giraffe population being lost in the last three decades alone,” Bright said.

“International media coverage of our patternless baby giraffe has brought much-needed focus to giraffe conservation.”