Kipekee the spotless giraffe calf at Brights Zoo in Limestone, Tennessee, with her mom.Photo:Brights Zoo
Brights Zoo
“There is not another one out there,“BrightsZoo’s director, David Bright, tells PEOPLE of the giraffe calf born in July.
A record-breaking number of people visited Brights Zoo over Labor Day Weekend. The zoo is located on 103 acres in Limestone, just past the town of Jonesboro — famous for its storytelling festival. There were 3,000 visitors on Monday alone. Bright estimates there were about 10,000 visitors over the long weekend.
“Everybody wants to see this,” said the zoo director, 51. “People from all over the world.”
Kipekee the patternless giraffe calf at Brights Zoo in Limestone, Tennessee.Brights Zoo
The Bright family originally owned an eight-acre quarter-horse farm. As a 25thwedding anniversary present, David’s father, Tony Bright, gifted his wife, Connie, a pair of zebras.
In 1989, the couple started importing more exotic animals and buying more land to house them.
“Before you knew it, there were no horses here, and it was a full-blown zoo,” Bright says of his parents' creation.
In 2007, the family started inviting schoolchildren to visit the animals. “We had so many animals here,” he adds. “The right thing to do was to be open to the public.” Brights Zoo officially opened a year later, with a focus on promoting conservation efforts, according to Bright.
“That’s what’s important,” he says. “We want to make sure that future generations have the ability to see animals that, if it weren’t for zoos and major conservation efforts, we would never get to see.”
The zoo’s staff called veterinarians at the University of Tennessee and other zoos, asking, “Who’s seen this? How rare is this?” he says.
“Even the old-old timers that are in their 80s have never heard of this. So we knew it was pretty unique,” Bright adds.
The last recorded spotless giraffe was born in 1972 in Tokyo.
“Keep an eye on her,” Bright says of Kipekee. “This is the best way for a zoo to get out the word for conservation. We need everybody to get involved to help protect wild giraffes. She has the ability to be the spokesperson for that.”
Kipekee the spotless giraffe calf at Brights Zoo in Limestone, Tennessee, with her mom.Brights Zoo
Kipekee’s unique all-brown coat hasn’t gotten in the way of her bonding.
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“[The herd] accepted her with open arms as soon as she was born. Her first time outside, all the giraffes came over, and they licked all over her,” Bright says.
“To find out what is behind that brown, is there a pattern?” he says. “I’m really excited about getting to do that.”
source: people.com
