(CNN) � There’s a brand new spotless superstar on the scene at a Tennessee zoo.
She doesn’t have a name yet, but she’s already made a big splash among her herd � she’s a giraffe without patches.
The 6-foot wonder was born sans spots on July 31 at Bright’s Zoo, a privately owned facility in Limestone, and made her public debut this month. The calf is a reticulated giraffe, one of giraffe species.
The zoo said she might be the “only solid-colored reticulated giraffe living anywhere on the planet.� (The last spotless giraffe in captivity was likely a calf born at Tokyo’s Ueno Zoo in 1972, CBS News .)
The word “reticulated� refers to the giraffe’s network of polygonal brown spots, broken up by veins of creamy off-white, according to the The spots function primarily as camouflage in the savannas of northern Kenya where they live and graze.
And underneath each spot is a “sophisticated system of blood vessels,� according to the , a nonprofit that focuses on sustaining and growing the wild giraffe population across Africa. It takes a large network of vessels and 25-pound hearts to keep the world’s tallest land mammal on its hooves.
Zoo founder Tony Bright said that the weeks-old calf is casting a “much-needed spotlight� on giraffe conservation. Around 16,000 reticulated giraffes remain in the wild, according to the , a 50% decline in the last three-and-a-half decades from when there were around 36,000 wild reticulated giraffes living on the continent.
The new calf joins a growing herd at Bright’s, following another baby giraffe that was born just weeks before. The zoo says she’s “thriving� under the supervision of her attentive mother and its human staff. Now she just needs a name, which before the winning moniker is announced on Labor Day.
Among the four choices are Kipekee, which means “unique� in Swahili � a fitting name for an exceedingly rare baby.
The-CNN-Wire
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