albino

Migaloo, is a completely all-white humpback whale and is said to be the very first completely white humpback whale. Scientists are still unsure if Migaloo is albino or leucistic, which means he is unable to "produce pigment but has colored eyes."

The name Migaloo itself means "whitefella" in a few indigenous languages. 

Migaloo was first spotted in 1991, around Hervey Bay and has been monitored by scientists ever since. Due to Migaloo being too well-known and so rare, special protections have been implemented to ensure nothing happens to Australia's favorite humpback. Whale watchers have to keep at least a five-hundred meter distance or face the penalty. A penalty of a fine up to $16,500.

Yikes. They aren't messing around and honestly, that's a great thing. 

A tweet predicted a Migaloo sighting that he would be by Sydney soon and even possibly reach Cape Byron around Wednesday. 

If you're in Australia, be on the lookout for the rare sighting! Though, Dr. Pirotta, Macquarie University Marine Scientist, says, "Migaloo is one of around 40,000 humpback whales so essentially it's like looking for a needle in a haystack. So when people see or may have seen this individual people get really excited and start to try and predict his movements."

"Migaloo is like the rock star for the ocean world because he's showing that we should care about the ocean. But also remembering that because he's so famous we need to be aware of our actions on the water," Dr. Pirotta added.

Seems like Australia reigns up top when it comes to rare sea life! 

Story via DailyMail

Jessica (Imgur user bimbumbim) woke up to the sound of the doggy door opening and closing. All of her dogs were with her in bed. The living creature who entered through the doggy door was certainly a surprise, especially given that it was nighttime. Here is her story. 

A truck driver was driving through the rice fields of Yolo County, Sacramento, when he came across a white mound in the middle of the road. Quickly swerving to avoid hitting it, he continued on for a split second until he saw another truck behind him swerve as well. The truck driver decided to turn around and investigate but was confused as to what the white mound was, upon closer inspection.  

As first, he thought it was a lamb or maybe some type of goat, but he heard it mew, like a cat. He called up Kindred Spirits Fawn Rescue center and sent the center's President, Diane Nicholas, a photo of the animal. 

Nicholas told LA Times, "He said, 'I don't know what I've got, I said, 'Oh, my gosh, that's an albino fawn!'"

Story via LA Times

According to China Daily, the infrared camera captured the incredibly rare footage of a fully albino panda in the mountains of China's Wolong National Nature Reserve. The images were released to the public this past Saturday and researchers say it is the very first time an entirely while panda has ever been identified. 

Li Sheng, of Peking University, told Xinhua news agency, the never-before-seen albino panda seems to be at most 2 years old. "Judging from the photo, the panda is physically strong and taking steady steps, suggesting the gene mutation is not affecting its normal life."

And being albino, the bear might be more sensitive to the sun but in no way should affect its ability to reproduce. If it were to reproduce, however, the offspring would only inherit the albinism if both parents carried the gene, as it is a recessive trait. In a 2014 census, it was revealed that roughly 1800 giant pandas are left in this world, according to the World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF), marking their status has "vulnerable". 

Officials say that they will attempt to continue track of the bear by installing more motion cameras. 

And while experts knew albinism occurred in pandas, this is the very first time it's been captured on camera! Check out the image below! 

According to Caters New Agency, the albino pinkbelly sideneck turtle was born with her heart exposed. In humans, this condition is called ectopia cordis, but in veterinary medicine there is no name for the life-threatening genetic defect. Even with her heart beating outside of her shell, the baby turtle, named Hope, has defied the odds and survived. Hope lives with her owner Michael Aquilina in New Jersey. Aquilina, known as AquaMike on Instagram, was given the turtle by a friend who felt Aquilina had the passion and experience to give Hope the longest, happiest life possible. The little turtle arrived at Aquilina's home in November 2018 and continues to grow stronger with each passing day. 

What makes you different makes you beautiful