All Dressed in White

Not too long ago, I was at the California Academy of Sciences on a field trip, which really got me thinking about albino animals.  This is Claude, the famous albino alligator who lives at the museum.  Notice something different about him?


When something or someone is albino, it means that there is color missing, usually in the skin, hair, and eyes.  This is called albinism.  Albinism is rather rare, and in the animal world, very dangerous.  Why?  Without color, these albino animals stand out to predators because they are unable to camouflage into their environments.  Many albino animals are raised in captivity, by people, so that they can be better protected because they do not have a great chance of survival in the wild.

Check out some cool pictures of albino animals.


An albino zebra


Albino raccoons with a friend from a zoo in Charleston, South Carolina


An albino peacock


A rare albino squirrel-- only 1 in 100,000 squirrels is albino


An albino joey with its mother-- about 1 in 10,000 kangaroos is albino


Some albino baby skunks with their mother-- notice how not all of the babies are albino.


An albino hedgehog


An albino micro bat-- that's a thumb that he's sitting on!


An albino baby sea turtle


A very rare gorilla-- the only albino one found.


An albino Great Horned Owl, also the only one ever found.

   
Albino lion cubs in Germany


A male adult albino lion


An albino ladybug


An albino dolphin-- Look, it's pink!

      
Albino rats and rabbits are less rare.  You can often find them in pet stores.

Here's an entire photo gallery of albino animals from the New York Daily News.  Some of these pictures are from this gallery, but there are many, many more!