One-of-a-Kind Albino Panda Spotted in China

An albino panda, thought to be the only one alive in the world today, has been spotted in China.

The panda, which has the characteristic white fur and red eyes of an animal with albinism, is thought to be around five or six years old, and appears to be in good health.

It was spotted playing with a normal-colored panda and its cub in Wolong National Nature Reserve in China's Sichuan province.

Video footage from the end of February shows the entirely white panda approaching a mother panda and attempting to interact, only to be rebuffed by the female.

"The cub in the footage is about one to two years old, and the all-white panda is nearly the size of an adult. At the end of February, wild pandas in Wolong have entered the oestrus season, during which the female pandas with cubs can be very aggressive when an adult panda approaches or invades," said Wei Rongping, a senior engineer at the China Conservation and Research Centre for Giant Pandas, told the Straits Times.

"This female panda was extremely 'calm' and did not conform to the general rule. One possibility is that the female panda is the mother of the all-white panda," Wei said.

Giant pandas are a species of bear native to China. Listed as "vulnerable" on the IUCN Red List, giant panda populations are threatened, with only around 1,800 pandas still living in the wild, according to the WWF.

This albino was first discovered in 2019. At the time, Li Sheng, a researcher at Peking University's School of Life Sciences, told the state-run China News Service, as reported by the South China Morning Post: "This is the first time a fully albino wild giant panda has been caught on camera, indicating there must be a gene mutation in the giant panda population,"

Albinism is a genetic condition that prevents the body from producing melanin, the pigment that gives color to skin, eyes, hair, feathers and scales. It is very rare, occurring due to a recessive mutated gene in between 1 in 20,000 and 1 in 1 million animals, according to Purdue University, but has been spotted in a number of species, ranging from whales and snakes to echidnas and anteaters.

Albino animals are often at more risk than their normal-colored counterparts, as they tend to stand out from their environment much more starkly due to their brighter and less earthen tones.

While this panda is thought to be the first true albino of its species, some paler brown and white pandas have previously been spotted roaming in China's Qinling region. This, combined with the albino panda, has led researchers to believe that there is a "whitening" genetic mutation is present in the panda population of Wolong, the Smithsonian Magazine reported.

Therefore, it is possible that if this panda breeds, there could be more little albinos in years to come.

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