Photographer captures rare Kruger giraffe with papillomavirus

Despite looking like a character in a horror movie, this malformed giraffe will not die as a result of its bumpy warts.

According to an article published by Lowvelder, this fairly unique sighting happened in December 2024 when Marius Nortjé, a professional photographer from Magaliesberg, visited the Kruger National Park.

They stayed over at the Lower Sabie camp and were on their way to Crocodile Bridge, trying to find a specific pack of lions.

“We turned off onto the S25 in a westerly direction towards Hippo Pools,” says Nortjé.

“It was just after 07:00 when we came across the herd of giraffes. It was then that we saw one with huge nodules hanging from its skin. She was walking quite calmly from tree to tree, eating, and the warts didn’t seem to bother her at all. It could also be, if one looks at her age, that she has already got used to it.”

Nortjié says they did not see any other giraffe suffering from the same affliction.

This skin disease, where huge lumps are formed on the skin, is caused by the papillomavirus.

The photographs Nortjé took were so unique that they even featured on the internationally acclaimed website, Worldwide-Vets. Dr Gemna Campling, chief veterinarian and Worldwide-Vets CEO, explained that this virus spread through contact.

“In this instance, it is assumed that it was transferred by some red-billed oxpecker birds, landing on the giraffe and pecking at their naturally occurring parasites and ticks,” she says.

“While it is not a life-threatening disease, it no doubt causes discomfort when the lumps become as advanced as this. There is no treatment for this particular disease.”

According to her, this version of papilloma can’t be passed on to people. However, humans do have our own human papillomavirus.

Mokfadi Mojela said on Facebook he saw the same animal on January 7, also near Hippo Pools.

*One of the best-known examples of a human suffering from the disease was Dede Koswara, also known as the ‘Tree Man’.

He was an Indonesian carpenter with epidermodysplasia verruciformis, a rare disease that causes the human papillomavirus to grow uncontrollably. This led to the development of warts resembling tree bark. In August 2008, Koswara underwent nine operations and had about 6kgs of warts surgically removed. He died in January 2016 due to a series of health problems related to his condition.