Charles Foley, a researcher with the Wildlife Conservation Society, has been hoping to catch a glimpse of a white giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) for over a decade.

Foley, who studies savanna elephant populations in Tanzania’s Tarangire National Park, first heard reports of the white giraffe sightings in the park in 1993. Those reports stopped coming in after 1994, but Foley continued to keep an eye out for the unusual giraffe. And now, his keen determination has paied off. During a recent arial survey of elephants in the park, Foley spotted a flash of white that turned out to be a white giraffe. The photo he took of the giraffe that day reveals a pale colored giraffe with light brown on its legs.

Find out more:

• Thar She Blows! The White Giraffe! (Wildlife Conservation Society)
• Rare White Giraffe Spotted in Africa (National Geographic)
• Rare White Giraffe Photographed (LiveScience)
• Rare White Giraffe Sighted in Tanzania (NPR)