World's Only White Giraffe Fitted With GPS Tracking in Bid To Protect It From Poachers | 22 Words

You would think that by the year 2020, humans would have learned that violence is not the answer to everything. But no! There are people out there who are still running around, murdering defenseless animals and then cowardly attempting to justify it by calling it a "sport."

This is why after some horrific poaching news earlier this week, wildlife rangers are doing all they can to protect a rare white giraffe. Read on to find out how they're doing this...

Warning: We must warn you that this article contains some disturbing images.

via: Getty

 Trophy hunting is the killing of wild animals for human pleasure. Some even refer to it as a "sport." The animals are often bred in captivity and are released into a fenced-off area where they are cornered in and gunned down by hunters.

These animals are actually bred to be hunted.

via: Getty

 Across Africa, there are hundreds of breeding facilities that churn out thousands of innocent animals to be hunted. The animals involved are habituated from an early age, often through being hand-reared and bottle-fed, so that they are no longer naturally fearful of people, making them easy targets for a rifle or bow when it comes to the hunt.

This is the main reason that many travel abroad to hunt.

via: Shutterstock

 Because here in the U.S. deer hunting is the most extreme that regulated and legal animal hunting will get. For the big "macho" hunters out there, deers are seen as child's play; many hunters want to take on larger, more dangerous animals to feed their nasty habit.

Though partaking in the sport comes with a hefty price tag.

via: Shutterstock

 Keen hunters have been known to fork out tens of thousands of dollars just to corner an innocent and frightened animal and shoot it dead. What kind of satisfaction they get from it, we will never know.

The average price to hunt a lion in Africa is around $20,000, while an elephant can cost as much as $40,000.

via: Getty

 That makes trophy hunting a booming business. The industry employs ranchers, outfitters, professional hunters, gun manufacturers, and taxidermists alike. People with time, money, and a lack of sanity to ensure the business keeps on giving.

Some hunters try to justify their spending...

The hunters claim that they're helping to fund "conservation efforts" with the money that they pay to hunt. However, we think that's just an excuse to keep on killing.

Some hunters claim to help endangered species with their hunting.

via: CNN

 Back in January 2014, Corey Knowlton from Dallas, bid $350,000 for a permit to hunt and kill a then-endangered black rhino in Namibia. "I felt like from day one it was something benefiting the black rhino," Knowlton told CNN. "Being on this hunt, with the amount of criticism it brought and the amount of praise it brought from both sides, I don't think it could have brought more awareness to the black rhino."

And guess what?

via: Shuterstock

 The Black Rhino is now fully extinct, with poaching and hunting being the primary factors to the species' decline. No one will ever see a Black Rhino ever again because these hunters couldn't help but pull a trigger. Wow.

People have long protested the act of trophy hunting and poaching.

via: Getty

 Because, thankfully, we're not all barbaric monsters on this planet.

And even celebrities have voiced their disgust at the activity...

British comedian and actor, Ricky Gervais, has always been incredibly vocal on his stance about animal rights. In this tweet, Ricky expresses his utter repulsion over the way that rich hunters not only kill innocent animals but exploit the needs of the poor.

Though this hasn't stopped hunters from proudly displaying their "trophies."

Perhaps the most barbaric part of all this is the all-important "trophy selfie" that hunters have got into the habit of taking. Once they've killed the animal, they position the corpse into a pose that they see fit and stand proudly next to (or sometimes on top of) their kill.

The photos are the most talked-about aspect of this kind of activity.

Because what could be more normal than slaughtering a defenseless animal and then posing for a picture next to its corpse, right?

Remember when these British hunters took things to a whole new level?

via: Shutterstock

 They decided they wanted to post a whole collection of photos showing them smiling beside the corpses of vulnerable zebras as if it is something to be proud of.

Zebras have recently been classified as vulnerable on the International Union of the Conservation of Nature's list.

via: Shutterstock

 Approximately 3 years ago, we were all shocked to learn that alongside other wild animals, the number of zebras was also declining at a quicker rate than expected. The population dropped almost twenty-four percent over the past decade or so.

And if that's not alarming enough, we have trophy hunters such as these emerging from the bushes.

via: Hunter Hills

 Because the animal is not illegal to hunt on the plains of South Africa, this group decided that they would go to the area and slaughter as many as they could.

Earlier this year, the internet was hit with more sad news.

via: Facebook

 It came from the Ishaqbini Hirola Community Conservancy in Ijara, Garissa County, eastern Kenya.

Conservancy manager Mohammed Ahmednoor shared some sad news on Facebook.

via: Facebook

 "Sad day as KENYA's only female white giraffe and her calf are killed by poachers at Ishaqbini Hirola Conservancy in Ijara, Garissa County."

"This is a very sad day for the community of Ijara and Kenya as a whole."

via: Facebook

 "Her killing is a blow to the steps taken by the community to conserve rare and unique species and a wake-up call for continued support to conservation efforts."

"This is a long term loss given that genetics studies and research which were significant investment into the area by researchers, has now gone to the drain."

via: Facebook

 "Also, the white giraffe was a big boost to tourism in the area."

It is thought that just one male now remains...

via: Facebook

 And there is a great need to protect him.

With the species as a whole having their future hang in the balance, rangers are doing all they can to keep him safe.

So, they've fitted a GPS tracking device to one of the giraffe's horns.

The giraffe, who despite being ultra-rare is still unnamed, was darted with a tranquilizer in order to fit the GPS.

Attached to one horn, the GPS will ping every hour, alerting rangers of his location.

The white giraffe first drew huge attention back in 2017 with the rare color making them very at risk of poachers.

The rare giraffes color is caused by a condition known as leucism.

The condition means the giraffe continues to produce dark pigment in their soft tissue, giving them dark eyes.

We hope the GPS tracking device manages to keep the poachers away.

As it could be the last chance for the species.

Want to learn more about poaching? Scroll on for how Kim Kardashian has been caught up in some controversy...