Get this: one in every 20,000 people is born with albinism.
Ya know, that condition when the body doesn’t produce enough melanin, giving the skin, hair,
and eyes a pretty much complete lack of color.
While it’s pretty rare in humans, it’s even harder to find in the animal kingdom.
But they do exist.
So if you’ve never seen an albino dolphin, squirrel, or crow – you’re in for a treat!
Let’s start with a Horse of a different color, well maybe just, you know, white.
Albino horses are born completely white and stay that way their whole life.
The really cool thing about them is that they don’t have reddish eyes, unlike most mammals
such as mice and rabbits.
Albino horses see the world through their brown or light blue eyes and have unpigmented
skin.
This makes some experts believe they’re actually just white, and not 100% albino.
Deer Being an albino can be both a curse and a
blessing for a deer.
You see, when you lose your camouflage, it’s much harder to hide from predators in the
woods when you can be seen from miles away.
On the other hand, their beauty and grace stop most hunters from killing them since
many people actually consider white deer off-limits.
There’s even a legend that killing an albino deer will bring you bad luck.
I’m guessing the legend was probably started by the albino deer themselves!
Turtle Now, sea turtles have long been on the endangered
species list, and albino sea turtles are so rare that anytime their pictures appear online,
they go viral.
In 2016, a group of volunteers spotted a turtle nest on Castaways Beach in Queensland, Australia.
There were 122 baby turtles on it, and they left the nest, leaving one albino baby behind.
The volunteers called that turtle Alby, and it quickly became an Internet star.
Alligator Regular alligators are common in the swamps
of the southeastern states.
And no one really dreams of meeting one face-to-face, right?
I’m guessing they both bite about the same!
But albino alligators are incredibly rare as there’s only around 20 of them in the
world.
Similar to deer, their yellowish white skin makes them an easy target for predators, so
they don’t live too long.
Their skin is also highly sensitive to sunlight.
The most famous albino alligator was called White Diamond, and it lived in Germany’s
Serengeti Park.
He was transported there from Louisiana to become part of a traveling reptile show.
Owl This majestic creature looking straight out
of the Harry Potter movies was found in 2016.
Because their skin and feathers lack color, the eyes of an albino owl look bright red,
and you can literally see through the iris to the blood vessels inside.
Whooo would’ve known?!
Squirrel Only one squirrel in 100,000 is born white,
so spotting one is a rare stroke of luck.
They’re an easy catch for hawks given that they’re highlighted white against the grass
and leaves.
So many of the survivors actually enjoy living in towns among grey squirrels and humans.
Ladybug If you ever find an albino ladybug, it’s
likely a 15-Spotted Lady Beetle or Ashy Grey Lady Beetle.
Yes, they have names.
They can also get darker with time.
Even regular ladybugs are believed to bring good luck, and the effect is supposedly even
stronger with unique albino ones.
Giraffe In 2017, the world went all mushy and gooey
as pictures of two albino giraffes from Kenya went viral.
It was a mom and her baby with spots barely visible on their skin.
Anytime someone snaps a picture of an albino giraffe, it instantly becomes a sensation
because they’re so rare and unique!
Cockroach Not exactly all people are fans of cockroaches
(actually nobody is), and most folks will try anything to get them out of their house.
Maybe you’d be kinder to an albino cockroach.
They become this way when they reach molt and lose pigmentation due to a chemical reaction.
Nah, I think I’d spray those too.
Gourami Not only animals, birds, and insects can be
albino – fish can too!
Meet the Albino Gourami.
They also lack melanin pigments and look white as snow as a result (which is tough since
snow tends to melt in an aquarium!).
If you ever decide to get one as a pet, note that bright aquarium lighting will make their
vision way worse, so be careful with it.
Sea urchin Another creature of the sea that goes under
different names such as Hairy Sea Urchin, Short Spine Sea Urchin, Sea Egg, and West
Indian Sea Egg.
(None are named Oliver Twist, which is a kind of street urchin.)
This albino creature has found an interesting way to protect itself from predators and the
sun.
It hides in seaweed, shells, and pebbles.
Sounds smart to me.
Crow Albino crows and ravens are among the rarest
birds on the planet and are even considered more mythological than real.
Just like regular ravens, they’re naturally curious about what’s going on around them,
and that lack of color makes them vulnerable to sunlight.
Another problem they face is finding a partner to mate with.
So, some lucky birds just end up living with humans that provide plenty of love and care!
Hedgehog Only one in 100,000 hedgehogs is colorless
since they’re born with a recessive gene.
The cool thing about them is that they’re so white, they even glow in the dark!
If you ever find one, the best thing you can do is take it home or to a pet shelter because
they don’t fair too well in the wild.
Moose The latest spotting of a white moose that
became an online star was in the Värmland region of Sweden.
It turns out, there are people who spent years photo-hunting these creatures, and for one
of them, their dream came true after 3 years of unsuccessful attempts.
Regular hunters don’t go after white moose because they’re so well-protected.
Peacock Male peacocks use their multi-colored plumage
to attract the ladies.
Albino peacocks don’t have that variety of color, but easily look even more majestic.
Kind of like Elsa the Ice Princess.
By the way, some peacocks are half-albino and half-regular.
In many cultures, the white peacock stands for death, resurrection, eternal life, and
glory.
Seems like an oxymoron to me…
Tiger Albino tigers shouldn’t be confused with
regular white tigers that are common in India.
Those have white fur and brighter black stripes, but albino tigers look lighter with pinkish
eyes.
Albino tiger parents pass the albino gene to their offspring, so you can even see whole
families of them!
Finch We’re used to seeing them in bright colors,
but albino finch also occur in the wild, so don’t be surprised if you spot one!
I wonder if Charles Darwin caught a glimpse of one during his escapes in the Galapagos…
Dolphin In 2018, the world went crazy at the sight
of a rare white albino dolphin when it was spotted twice within a week in California’s
Monterey Bay.
It was a young Risso’s Dolphin swimming along with hundreds of its non-albino friends.
Dubbed Casper when it was first spotted in 2014, it’s most likely the only albino dolphin
ever to be documented.
Risso’s dolphins are pretty unique as they have bulbous heads, large dorsal fins, and
gray, scar-covered bodies.
Kangaroo There are more kangaroos than people in Australia,
so it’s hard to surprise a tourist with one, but albino kangaroos aren’t nearly
as widespread.
Most of them live in captivity, but there’ve been reports of one wild albino kangaroo hopping
around in the suburbs of Canberra.
Wildlife experts say such kangaroos are prone to hearing and vision issues, so surviving
in the wild isn’t easy for them.
Zebra Black and white stripes is what you imagine
when you think of a zebra.
Scientists still aren’t sure exactly why nature has given them this pattern, but one
thing is certain: some zebras are different from others.
They have leucism, which makes them totally blond.
Gorilla An albino gorilla called Snowflake became
the most photographed animal in the world.
It attracted millions of visitors to the Barcelona Zoo and lived for 39 years.
He was born in 1966 in Equatorial Guinea and was the only white gorilla in the world.
New research has shown its white coloring was caused by inbreeding.
Orangutan The only albino orangutan in the world is
called Alba.
It was rescued in 2017 from the jungles of Indonesia, spent 20 months in rehabilitation
at the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation, and was released back into the wild.
The foundation staff and medical team realized Alba can survive quite well among regular
orangutans despite their previous concerns that it could be a problem.
Doberman Albino Dobermans have exclusively white coats,
blue eyes, and pink noses.
Lack of melanin makes them more vulnerable to the sun, and their skin and eyes are super
sensitive.
So if you happen to have an albino Doberman, definitely get a dog-approved sunscreen or
a light coat for your pup!
Have you ever seen an albino animal?
Let me know in the comments below.
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