For some people, Halloween means Pumpkin Spice Lattes, adorable trick-or-treaters and home-decorating tips from Martha Stewart. But for millions of horror fans, the season is all about jump scares, blood-thirsty ghouls and chainsaw-wielding clowns.
12.09.2023 - 15:25 / forbes.com
Photographed on a private game reserve in central Namibia, this young Angolan giraffe is the first spotless giraffe recorded in the wild in Africa
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Only a few weeks ago, officials at Brights Zoo in Limestone, Tennessee, announced the birth of a spotless giraffe calf on July 31. That captive-born giraffe was later given the name Kipekee (key pahy KAHY), which means “unique” in Swahili, after a public vote. Kipekee is a reticulated giraffe, Giraffa reticulata, a species that is native to Somalia, southern Ethiopia, and northern Kenya.
Unlike captive-born Kipekee, this newly documented giraffe calf was born in the wild in central Namibia. It was photographed near the Mount Etjo Safari Lodge on a private game reserve by wildlife photographer and field guide writer, Eckart Demasius, according to the Giraffe Conservation Foundation (GCF), who originally contacted me with this news.
This plain brown giraffe baby, which remains nameless at this moment, is an Angolan giraffe, Giraffa angolensis, which is a different species from Kipekee. The Angolan giraffe, also known as the Namibian giraffe or the smokey giraffe, lives in northern Namibia, southwestern Zambia, Botswana, western Zimbabwe and — thanks to reintroduction efforts just a month or so ago in mid-2023 — a few individuals can once again be seen roaming in Angola.
Plain brown giraffes are quite rare. Previously, there were only two reports in 1972 of plain brown giraffes born in zoos in Japan, long before Kipekee popped up in Tennessee. But this Namibian giraffe calf is special because it is the first all-brown individual recorded in the wild.
Color and spot or stripe pattern anomalies do pop up from time to time, even in wild animals. For example, five years ago, I researched and wrote a piece about a wild zebra foal that was mostly black with white polka-dots instead of stripes that was photographed in the Maasai Mara Wildlife Reserve in Kenya (more here). In that piece, I shared some photographs as well as insights from a scientist who studies the genetic mechanisms that underlie individual appearance. That said, however, the cause for such color and pattern variations is often unknown.
“The lack of spots could be caused by genetic mutations or recessive genotype[s] in one or more genes related to the pattern, but without detailed genetic analysis, these are mere speculations,” said Julian Fennessy, co-founder and Director of Conservation at GCF. Julian Fennessy also serves as the co-chair of the IUCN SSC Giraffe and Okapi Specialist Group.
“The Giraffe Conservation Foundation, together with our partner, the Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre, has done the most detailed
For some people, Halloween means Pumpkin Spice Lattes, adorable trick-or-treaters and home-decorating tips from Martha Stewart. But for millions of horror fans, the season is all about jump scares, blood-thirsty ghouls and chainsaw-wielding clowns.
Some say that Chicago is at its best in the fall. The leaves start their vibrant transformation and the Windy City welcomes the enchanting season of autumn by offering a rich tapestry of colors, flavors, and experiences. From celebrating Halloween in unique ways to taking an architectural boat tour, here are 11 things to do in Chicago this season.
A record number of Chinese are choosing to travel at home this Golden Week holiday, potentially boosting domestic consumption but disappointing travel agents who have been waiting for big-spending tourists to go back abroad since the pandemic ended.
Traveling this summer often came with major sticker shock, especially for international getaways. But with the fall travel season upon us, both temperatures and prices are mellowing out, as a mix of global cities—some surprising—are arising as choice destinations.
The Botswana Tourism Investment Summit aims to spotlight the country as an economic tiger in the making for its untapped tourism and investment opportunities.
Good morning from Skift. It’s Wednesday, September 13. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.
Thanks to Hyatt's newest Bonus Journeys promotion, World of Hyatt members can earn 3,000 bonus points for every three eligible nights on select stays at more than 1,250 Hyatt hotels and resorts from Oct. 6-Nov. 30.
Ever wonder what it is like to be a National Geographic photographer or filmmaker, traveling the world, experiencing exceptional adventures and witnessing spectacular, even rare, sights? I interviewed the intrepid Bertie Gregory, whose new show, Animals Up Close With Bertie Gregory, premieres September 13th on Disney+. This six-episode series — which swoops and soars in Antarctica, Botswana, Central African Republic, the Galápagos, Indonesia and Patagonia — weaves stunning footage and compelling narratives about elusive pumas, imaginative B1 killer whales, distinctive forest elephants, endangered wild dogs, intriguing seals and sea lions, Godzilla-like marine iguanas, iconic gorillas, awesome devil rays, fierce guanacos and handfuls of other creatures that are often not entirely what you might expect them to be. For insightful specifics about each episode, read Forbes’ Love To Travel? Wild About Nature? ‘Animals Up Close With Bertie Gregory’ Will Astonish You. Gregory and I continue our conversation, below, about the power of passion to fuel your dreams.
Hiroshima and Pearl Harbor officially became sister parks in June as a way to amend the relationship between the United States and Japan after World War II.
London’s gastronomic scene is famously fantastic and knows no bounds. No matter where you go in the capital, good food is all but guaranteed. However, there’s been some real magic in Mayfair lately, with a handful of hyped new restaurant openings that live up to—or exceed—expectations.
Whether it’s a Moroccan-influenced Chicken & Shrimp Kefta with a Vietnamese-style Nuoc Cham dipping sauce, or a Green Thai Curry Hummus with both English and Wasabi peas, Chef Jason Neroni of the newly-opened The Desmond restaurant has California Cuisine speaking with a lot of different accents. “We’re buying everything we can from the area,” says Neroni, “then we craft it with global influences. That gives us no boundaries — we’ve got a lot of different palates traveling through here and we can make them all very happy.”
To the visitor driving in from out of state, the 127 Yard Sale seems like a kind of Ironman for thrifters. The “world’s longest yard sale” is a test of endurance and attention. Spanning six states, 690 miles and thousands of stalls, it traverses dramatic landscapes, delicate cultural terrain and two time zones. Seeing it all in the four allotted days — Aug. 3 to 6 this year — is enough to induce vertigo in even the most stable-minded deal hunter. But some of us are foolish enough to try anyway.