Kipekee, ultra-rare spotless giraffe, dies at 2-years old, sparking zoo mystery

A rare spotless giraffe died under mysterious circumstances just two years after her birth at a Tennessee zoo sparked international attention and made her a must-see attraction.

Kipekee, the 2-year-old spotless giraffe, died at Brights Zoo on Wednesday, according to an announcement on the zoo’s Facebook page. Giraffes can live up to 25 years in the wild, or longer in captivity, according to National Geographic.

“A full necropsy will be performed to help us understand what happened,” the zoo said in its announcement.

Kipekee got her name from the Swahili word for unique, but the rare genetic mutation that left her spotless is unlikely to have played a role in her early death. Giraffe’s spots help them camouflage in the wild, so losing them isn’t a disadvantage in a zoo enclosure.

When she was born in 2023, Kipekee was thought to be the first spotless giraffe since 1972, when an animal named Toshiko was born in Tokyo. In a bizarre coincidence, a second spotless giraffe was discovered in Namibia just months after Kipekee was born.

After Kipekee was born, business boomed at Brights Zoo. Within weeks, the zoo had built a second overflow parking lot to manage the droves of visitors, according to local news reports at the time.

“Kipekee touched the hearts of millions of people around the world — and she held a very special place in the hearts of those who had the privilege of caring for her every day,” the zoo said in its announcement.

Over a thousand people have commented on the zoo’s post, remarking on Kipekee’s beauty, and posting videos of their own visits to her enclosure.