Albino gorilla furless skin#

One of the most well-known albino zoo animals was Snowflake, a gorilla featured in National Geographic magazine who died from skin cancer in 2003. Many albino animals are also sent to zoos for protection. The threat to these animals is so real that a nonprofit bought an island off Indonesia just so that it could build a sanctuary there for an albino orangutan, who will be protected by security guards nonstop when she moves there in June 2019. Take albino alligators, for instance, who make such an obvious target for predators that they’re often eaten before they reach adulthood.Īlbino animals and other unusually pale wildlife are also more vulnerable to poachers looking to capitalize on booming demand for exotic pets or products derived from rare creatures. In some cases they have trouble finding a mate, and their inability to camouflage themselves makes them vulnerable to predators. They often have poor eyesight, which puts them at a disadvantage when hunting for food and avoiding danger. Surviving with albinismĪlbino wildlife may face obstacles in nature. To tell the difference between an albino animal and one without the disease, look at the eyes: blood vessels normally masked by pigment show through in albino creatures, making their eyes pinkish in color. Some animals are simply light-skinned, or they might suffer from other conditions, such as leucism and isabellinism. It’s important to note that not all white animals are albino. Even albino mammals can show some color if their melanin-making genes haven’t been totally damaged. Non-mammal animals can also be albino, but because they can produce other pigments in addition to melanin, they may not appear fully white.

The production of melanin occurs within melanocytes, specialized cells that are present but not fully functional in albino mammals. In mammals, albinism occurs when an individual inherits one or more mutated genes from both parents that interfere with the body’s production of melanin, the main pigment that determines the color of skin, fur, and eyes. Even though the birth of an albino animal is considered a sacred or auspicious event in some cultures, research suggests that some albino animals have difficulty in the wild.

These unique creatures have partial or complete loss of pigmentation, hence their pale skin tone compared to other members of their species. Although rare in nature, albino animals have been spotted everywhere from the skies to the seas.