A researcher finally tracks down an elusive white giraffe he's been seeking for 12-years, and he's got the pictures to prove it.

Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) researcher, Charles Foley, first heard buzz about the rare white giraffe in 1993 while doing research on savanna elephants at Tanzania's Tarangire National Park.

Foley immediately set out to find the animal, but within the year, reports of sightings stopped coming in, prompting him to assume the animal had died.

He lucked out this summer, while conducting an aerial survey of a group of the park's elephants. He spotted a white speck in the distance.

Foley rubbed his eyes, looked again, but it was still there. He told the pilot to cruise over the spot one more time and he was able to snap the picture.

The giraffe is mostly white with small dark blotches throughout its body. Its legs are the more traditional brown color commonly found on giraffes.

Foley expresses doubt the giraffe he photographed is the same one sighted back in '93. He notes it's probably not a pure albino because they usually lack skin pigment. The researcher simply thinks the giraffe is lighter than normal.