Albinism isn’t a new phenomenon. It’s also not going anywhere. But what you may not realize is that many animal species can carry the gene. Some are more shocking than others. Stick around and learn more about some of the rarest-rare albino animals.
1. Albino Alligator
Have you ever heard of Blizzard and Snowflake? They’re the breeding alligators that live at Wild Florida Airboats & Gator Park. Yep, that’s right. Albino alligators are so rare that we actually named two of them. As far as we know, there are only 100 to 200 of these special white reptiles in the world. But thanks to Blizzard and Snowflake, numbers are on the rise! Wild Florida has been working on hatching at least one albino gator every year for the last 3 years. It doesn’t sound like much, but it’s progress!
This led me to wonder if there’s a difference in the scarcity of albino crocodiles vs. alligators. As it turns out, seeing an albino crocodile would be a 1 in a 30 to 50 million chance!
2. Albino Wallaby
The white little ball of fur that comes with wallaby albinism is to die for. And they’re as rare as 1 in 100,000!
If you haven’t heard of Olaf, I highly recommend looking him up. He’s not the snowman from Frozen! He’s the most adorable albino joey! The little guy was recently born at Symbio Wildlife Park in Helensburgh. It’s sad but the reality is that he’ll spend his life at the park because his chances of surviving the wild aren’t as good.
3. Albino Rattlesnake
The number of rattlesnakes that turn out to be albino could be one in every hundred thousand to one million births. And just like the rest of the albino animals, their chances of survival in the wild are dreadful. Unfortunately, albino rattlesnakes can’t camouflage themselves like their normal siblings. They also have vision issues, they struggle to find a mate, and on top of everything else – they’re very vulnerable to the sun.
Note that there’s a difference between leucistic and albino rattlesnakes, with the latter being the rarest of the two. Leucistic rattlesnakes are also white, but their eyes aren’t red.
4. Albino Squirrel
Female gray squirrels that carry the gene can give birth to an albino baby. But the chances of this happening are 1 in 100,000. That’s a 0,001% chance. Nonetheless, true albino squirrels have red eyes, poor vision, and trouble hiding from predators in the wild. If you see a white squirrel in nature, check its eyes. If they’re red, it’s albino (not leucistic) and you just witnessed something that you had a 0,001% chance of seeing.
Oh, and contact your local authorities. They’ll be able to help get the creature to a facility. It sounds cruel, I know. But safely rehoming the little guy could be its only chance at survival.
5. Albino Turtle
Baby albino turtles have a hard time making it out in the world. They have a very sad survival rate of 1 in 1000. For a newborn to be albino, both turtle parents need to carry the gene. How do we know if a regular turtle carries the gene? We don’t! Now get this – fully albino turtles are infertile! So, all hopes of growing the albino turtle population lies in regular turtles that have the albino gene.
Anyhow, let’s get to how rare albino turtles are. Snapping turtles have a 1 in 30,000 chance of being albino and tortoises have a 1 in 100,000 chance. Green turtles on the other hand are extra rare. Only one in hundreds of thousands of eggs will hatch to reveal an albino baby.
6. Albino Donkey
Albino donkeys may be rare, but apparently there’s an island full of them! The Asinara Donkey is an entire subspecies that consists of 100 to 120 feral albino donkeys. Their albinism is a rare form called oculo-cutaneous albinism of type 1 (OCA1) that resulted from inbreeding. Those albino donkeys interbreed with the gray donkeys that also live on Asinara Island. It’s a hybrid mess!
7. Albino Kangaroo
Albino kangaroos have a genetic mutation that occurs in no more than 1 in every 50,000 to 100,000 births. But if you have enough of them to start breeding you can grow the population, like The Panorama Wildlife Sanctuary and Secret Gardens in Australia does. These kangaroos’ skins are white as snow and their eyes are pink or ruby red, so they aren’t very hard to notice. Unfortunately, the same thing that makes them unique makes them vulnerable to domestic dogs, the sun, and humans. Yes, humans! Apparently, albino kangaroo skin is valuable.
8. Albino Zebra
Now, let’s discuss the animal that’s so rare you can almost consider it a myth. A fairytale. A legend.
Apart from the few dozen albino zebras that live in Mount Kenya National Park, we have no evidence that they exist in the wild. In addition to those few, a private park in South Africa also houses about 24 golden zebras. Some say that golden zebras refer to albinos, while others claim that there’s a major difference between the two. Apparently, golden zebras are blonde, while albino zebras have zero pigmentation. Nevertheless, albino zebras mostly live in captivity but they do have the ability to survive in the wild.
9. Albino Moose
One in every 20,000 moose is an albino. But what makes these creatures special is the cultural significance they have in indigenous communities. There are three reasons why a moose can be snow white. The first is obviously albinism. The second is leucism, in which case they won’t have red eyes and only parts of their skin will be white. Lastly, there’s the case of the piebald moose. They have a recessive gene that causes whiteness. This type of moose has white hair with brown flecks here and there.
10. Albino Orangutan
Alba the albino orangutan is a celebrity. Despite the fact that 1 out of every 10,000 orangutan babies is an albino, she is the only girl in the world. No really, she’s the only albino orangutan that we know of.
The first time we heard of Alba was when they rescued her from a cage in a village in Borneo at the age of 5. They took her to the Nyaru Menteng Orangutan Rescue and Rehabilitation Center, where she spent nearly 2 years. In 2018, they decided to release her into the wild. But not the real wild. The Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation built her own island because she’s under threat of poachers. But don’t worry. She’s not lonely! She lives with 3 other orangutans. Oh, and there are security guards and a canal surrounding the entire island. I told you she’s a real celeb!
11. Albino Peacock
According to a 1965 paper, only 99 albino birds from 8 species of quail, pheasants, and peafowl exist. That was back in 1965, so it’s probably very outdated. It doesn’t change the fact that albino peacocks are nearly as rare as chicken teeth. 1 out of every 30,000 baby peacocks is snow white. That doesn’t mean they’re albino, which makes it tricky to identify them. They could just be leucistic, which is a defect that prevents melanin from reaching their feathers.
12. Albino Humpback Whale
We end this list with another big (like literally BIG) celebrity. He’s the first albino whale ever spotted out in the deep blue sea, otherwise known as our dear friend Migaloo. 1 out of every 40,000 humpbacks is albino, so it was a true spectacle when he appeared on Australia’s east coast back in 1991. They gave him the name Migaloo, which means white fella in the Aboriginal community’s language. Personally, I think that’s pretty appropriate.
Unfortunately, Migaloo faces many threats as he travels around the world. These include entangling himself in fishing gear or getting ill from pollution. Not to mention the killer whales and human beings trying to hunt him down.
