You've seen white mice, but have you ever seen a white squirrel?
What about a white lion or a white peacock?
These majestic creatures are extremely rare,
but nearly every single type of animal has them.
From fish to moose and even polar bears -
yes they can be albino too -
albino animals, with their pure white skin and fur,
are known as some of the most exotic in the entire world.
But, albino animals are so uncommon in the wild that you've most likely never seen one.
Every species of animal produces them at a different rate, but on average
the chances of birthing an albino animal are about 1 in 10,000.
They may look special, but what's beneath their surface?
What else do these animals have to offer other than looks?
It turns out, there's more to them than meets the eye.
First, let's get one thing straight.
Not all of these animals are truly albino, despite what their skin looks like.
There's a sub-category of albinism called 'leucistic.'
The skin of these animals is typically all white, but their eyes are dark;
whereas albino animals' eyes are pink.
So, yes there can be albino polar bears, their eyes just need to be pink.
There are also animals who are part-albino.
They will have white patches, but still be colored in some parts.
What's the story with these animals anyway?
How do they get this white skin or fur?
Similar to human albinos, these animals are simply unable to produce melanin.
This dark pigment is found in skin, eyes and hair,
and without it, everything appears white or pink.
It's a recessive trait that's passed down through the parents, and it's extremely rare.
True albinos may come from all different species, but they all have one thing in common.
Poor eyesight.
That's right. These stunning creatures might not even be able to see their
true beauty because their eyes have less melanin.
A lack of melanin causes the eyes to develop poorly
giving the animal bad eyesight, specifically depth perception.
This can lead to a number of problems for these animals,
most devastatingly, an inability to hunt.
With such poor eyesight, finding prey is difficult,
leading to a struggle for survival.
But eyesight isn't the only thing making it difficult to survive.
If they're a predator, their skin color can be a massive detriment
to their hunting ability since they'll be spotted more easily.
Think alligators are tough to spot in murky swamp water?
Imagine if they were albino,
now you could spot them from a mile away.
And if they're prey, well, some creatures might actually be in luck.
Studies have shown that small albino critters like squirrels and chipmunks
have just as good a chance of surviving as they would if they had melanin in their fur.
That's because predators like hawks don't focus on the color of the animal.
Instead, they're looking at movement patterns,
and size to determine if what they see is food.
All these issues with albinism go way beyond how these animals eat;
it also affects them socially.
Just like humans, who might treat someone differently
based on the color of their skin,
animals do it too.
Certain albino creatures become outcasts from their own group.
Birds have the most difficult time with this as they're
unlikely to be able to mate with all white feathers.
That's because possible mates are attracted to certain colored feathers,
and without them, the bird is unlikely to reproduce.
And no, albino animals don't have any strange, mythical powers.
Despite that fact, they are worshipped by some Native American cultures.
They're believed to be a symbol of wisdom,
and if anyone were to hunt them, they'd be cursed.
Hunting them is considered unfair
since the bright white animals are so easy to spot.
Even without any mythical powers, these creatures are extremely magical.
They're beautiful and rare -
and that's why albino animals are Crazy Creatures.