
These incredible images show a rare white giraffe with no markings on its body grazing with the rest of its herd in the African bush.

The Rothschild giraffe, which has lost pigmentation in its hide because of a rare condition, was spotted roaming in Ishaqbini, Kenya.

Its herd seemed completely oblivious to her unusual colouring, according to photographer Jamie Manuel, from the Northern Rangelands Trust (NRT) in Kenya.

Incredible images have emerged showing a rare white giraffe with no markings on its body grazing with the rest of its herd in the African bush

The Rothschild giraffe, which has lost pigmentation in its hide because of a rare condition, was spotted roaming in Ishaqbini, Kenya

Spotted: The giraffe was tracked down by rangers and despite its unusual appearance, was interacting normally with the rest of the herd

Mr Manuel said he is one of the only people to have captured images of the white giraffe since rumours of its existence emerged in February this year.

The animal has leucism, a condition where there is a partial loss of pigmentation resulting in white, pale or patchy colouration of skin or hair. Unlike albinism it is caused by a reduction in multiple types of pigment, not just melanin.

He said: 'The white giraffe has been little more than a rumour for the NRT team until some time ago it was spotted from the NRT aircraft.

'A few weeks ago I decided to see if I and the Ishaqbini Community Rangers could find the giraffe on the ground.

Its herd seemed completely oblivious to her unusual colouring, according to photographer Jamie Manuel, from the Northern Rangelands Trust (NRT) in Kenya

Mr Manuel said he is one of the only people to have captured images of the white giraffe since rumours of its existence emerged in February this year

Mr Manuel said that on the second day of searching he found a 20-strong herd in a clearing in the forest - and that the white giraffe was among them

Grazing: The animal appeared to be healthy and feeding well when rangers were finally able to track it down in Ishaqbini, Kenya

The photographer said that a giraffe with leucism was spotted in January in Tanzania and that it seemed that the same condition affected this animal

'Word was sent out that we were on the trail of the white giraffe and slowly herders sent word back of the general area it had last been seen in.

He said that on the second day of searching he found a 20-strong herd in a clearing in the forest - and that the white giraffe was among them.

'The rangers were thrilled to get a closer look, and were pleased to see that the animal looked healthy and was feeding well,' he added.

'I finally managed to photograph the giraffe at close quarters and immediately wondered if it was albino or leucistic.