In the animal world, color is key. Sometimes color may reveal a gender, as with the bird kingdom, where male birds are more colorful than females.
Sometimes color can be a warning sign to stay away, such as with poison dart frogs or venomous coral snakes. And many animals use their colors for protection — to camouflage themselves while hunting or to avoid being eaten.
So, what happens when an animal is born as an albino and lacks the ability to produce melanin, which is what makes those defining colors in an animal’s skin, eyes or fur? Find out today as we countdown 15 beautiful Albino animals rarely seen. So get put your magic glasses on and watch attentively!
1. TURTLE
Number 15 on our list is the Turtle. Have you ever stumbled upon an albino turtle? They are quite a piece of work! With their red eyes and orange-tinged skin and shell, they are an incredible sight to behold.
They are extremely rare and if you ever stumble across one, consider yourself very lucky. For Super Mario Brothers fans, they almost look like “Koopa Paratroopas” and are totally adorable. Unfortunately, their unique appearance, as with all albino animals, also leaves them incredibly vulnerable.
Without the camouflage that their normal coloration awards them, albino turtles are much more susceptible to predators. This makes their lifespan shorter and therefore contributes to the rarity of their kind. Despite this genetic disadvantage, turtles are lucky in the spectrum of albino animals.
Because of the protection their hard shell provides, they do typically live longer than other albino species—though their life is still shorter than a standard turtle. For turtles, albinism is often a bit different than in humans or even birds.
Reptiles usually still have one pigment present, and that’s why they appear red or yellow instead of white. This isn’t to say that no turtles are white from albinism, it’s just rarer. Albino turtles are so rare, and so beautiful, that they tend to cause a stir online.
Several years ago, an albino pink belly side neck turtle was born with her heart beating outside of her body. Appropriately named Hope, she became an online sensation and continues to thrive, thanks to the care of her owner.
2. TIGER
Number 14 on our list is the tiger. There is always a tendency to place value on anything that is rare. That rarity can be equated with beauty. Often, we hear people talk about how beautiful white tigers are.
All tigers are beautiful. But, when you think about it, are white tigers more beautiful than the wonderfully colored orange tigers? White tigers result from a recessive gene. If two golden tigers that have that gene mate, sometimes a white cub will be born.
If one or both of the mating tigers are white, the odds improve. People often confuse Siberian, or Amur, tigers with white tigers because we think of snow when we think of Siberia. Originally all white tigers were Bengal tigers in India. But there is a connection to the Siberian tiger.
Crossbreeding Bengal tigers with Siberian tigers is believed to increase the odds of producing white cubs. The result of that cross-breeding is “generic” tigers. These tigers are not of pure subspecies and therefore have no conservation value.
The same gene that causes the white coat causes the optic nerve to be wired to the wrong side of the brain, thus all white tigers are cross-eyed, even if their eyes look normal. They also often suffer from club feet, cleft palates, spinal deformities, and defective organs.
While the package looks great on the outside, it’s a whole other story on the inside. The leader of the Tiger Species Survival Plan states openly that the only reason people breed white tigers is that people will pay to see white tigers. Once again, it’s all about the green stuff! People can end the misery by just saying no to any place that breeds or exploits white tigers.
3. ZEBRA
Number 13 on our list is the Zebra. Do blond zebras really have more fun? Even so, wearing blond stripes when everyone else in your crew has adapted to black stripes does likely pose some challenges to albino zebras.
Zebras evolved their signature black-and-white stripes specifically to deter bug bites. Therefore, fair-striped zebras would have a harder time deterring pesky insects than their dark-striped brothers, as some flies are more likely to land on uniform surfaces than on high-contrast ones. This rare case has yet to be studied in detail.
However, the fact that so few blond zebras have been observed in the wild suggests the trait is probably detrimental in some way.
I wonder if the albino Zebras know they’re different when they see their friends strolling around, wearing a different suit? I mean, that’s almost like walking around naked when everyone else is dressed. It seems that blond zebras may not, in fact, have more fun.
