A female American hunter has caused outrage after photos emerged of her posing alongside the corpse of a rare black giraffe she killed in what she described as a 'once in a lifetime dream hunt'.

Tess Thompson Talley, who lives in Texas and previously Kentucky, posted the photos of herself with the dead giraffe on Facebook after a hunting trip to South Africa a year ago.

'Prayers for my once in a lifetime dream hunt came true today! Spotted this rare black giraffe bull and stalked him for quite awhile,' the 37-year-old posted alongside the photos.

'I knew it was the one. He was over 18 years old, 4,000 lbs and was blessed to be able to get 2,000 lbs of meat from him.'

Tess Thompson Talley, who lives in Texas, posted the photos of herself with the dead giraffe on Facebook after a hunting trip to South Africa a year ago

Talley, who has been receiving death threats since the photos emerged, defended her kill, telling Fox News that the giraffe was 18 and too old to breed

The animal she hunted is referred to as a black giraffe only because the dominant males tend to change color as they get older. Their mustard-colored patches will darken over time until they are black.

Talley, who is married to a fellow hunter, posted several photos of her posing in front of the giraffe's corpse, laying down next to it and leaning against the slain animal as its head wrapped around her.

The controversial photos seemingly went unnoticed until news outlet Africa Digest shared them last week.

'White American savage who is partly a Neanderthal comes to Africa and shoot down a very rare black giraffe courtesy of South Africa stupidity,' a tweet Africa Digest read.

'Her name is Tess Thompson Talley. Please share.'

She has since made her Facebook profile private following backlash.

Talley described the kill as a 'once in a lifetime dream hunt'. The photos of her posing alongside the dead animal have since caused outrage

When she first posted the photos, Talley asked for 'prayers' for her 'once in a lifetime dream hunt'. She said she spotted the rare black giraffe bull and stalked him for quite awhile

Talley posted several photos of her posing in front of the giraffe's corpse, laying down next to it and leaning against the slain animal as its head wrapped around her

It prompted immediate outrage on social media with the hashtag #TessThompsonTalley quickly going viral.

Among those to hit out at Talley was Will and Grace actress Debra Messing who called the hunter a 'disgusting, vile, amoral, heartless, selfish murderer'.

'With joy in her black heart and a beaming smile she lies next to the dead carcass of a *rare* black giraffe in South Africa. Giraffes are the epitome of gentle giants. They glide across the plains, like liquid; awe inspiring creatures who spend their days eating leaves and caring for their young. How DARE she,' Messing wrote in a lengthy post.

Ricky Gervais tweeted: 'Giraffes are now on the 'red list' of endangerment due to a 40% decline over the last 25 years. They could become extinct. Gone forever. And still, we allow spoilt c**ts to pay money to shoot them with a bow and arrow for fun.'

Talley's Facebook page shows her posing with a variety of other animals she has hunted

Talley is pictured above holding up a kangaroo she is believed to have hunted

Trophy hunting is legal in parts of Africa, including South Africa.

Talley, who has been receiving death threats since the photos emerged, defended her kill, telling Fox News that the giraffe was 18 and too old to breed.

She added that the giraffe had killed three younger bulls in the herd who were able to breed.

'This is called conservation through game management,' she said.

'The giraffe I hunted was the South African sub-species of giraffe. The numbers of this sub-species is actually increasing due, in part, to hunters and conservation efforts paid for in large part by big game hunting.

'The breed is not rare in any way other than it was very old. Giraffes get darker with age.'

The controversial photos seemingly went unnoticed until news outlet Africa Digest shared them last week