rare

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

Think about it... have you ever seen a cat with an all brown coat? Neither have we! 

Meet Bojay! The completely brown kitten (fur and eyes) that Redditors are now obsessed with and we're in the exact same boat! 

Bojay is currently 5 months old and is a British Shorthair, and according to his owner u/falk5713, his personality is just as pretty as he is! 

Aww! As if we couldn't obsess more than we currently are. 

Get ready to fall madly in love with little Bojay!

In 2018, The Boronia Veterinary Clinic in Australia announced on Facebook about a very rare and special guest at their clinic- a rescued brushtail possum with an incredible orange-yellow coat, often referred to as "Golden possums".  

 The real-life Pikachu was sadly found lying on the ground by a concerned rescuer when he was just five months old, after falling from her mom's back. After spending a night at Boronia Veterinary Clinic, she was placed with a wildlife carer.

Brushtail possums are usually a grayish color, but little Pikachu has a genetic mutation that means she lacks melanin. 

Turns out, those unusual colors may look beautiful to us but are actually posing a significant danger to the animal in the wild: "One of the issues with unusual colors, particularly if they are pale, is that this is a nocturnal animal and if they are pale, they are obvious to predators like an owl,"  Dr. Kath Handasyde from Melbourne University's School of Biosciences told Business Insider.

But this adorable possum is not the only one in Australia. There are more little pockets of them around Melbourne, but their location is kept secret by the volunteers in order to keep them safe.      

Story via: Business Insider

Meet Brandy! The most beautiful moon bear in the world! 

Brandy was rescued in 1999, by Free the Bears, when she was found clinging to a tree in Southern California, once a forested area that was converted to a palm oil plantation. Now Brandy currently resides at the Cambodia Bear Sanctuary, which is the world's largest sun bear sanctuary. And according to Free the Bears, Brandy is a gentle bear.

Brandy is a Golden moon bear, which is an extremely rare genetic color phase of moon bear. Whenever she emerges from the trees, you see a burst of golden yellow and because of her beautiful coloring, she is often mistaken for a lion! 

Sun bears and moon bears are both vulnerable species listed on the IUCN Red List. You can help by sponsoring Brandy or even become a Bear Carer, all for less than the usual cup of coffee per week! 

While hiking in the magical landscape that is Norway, wildlife photographer Mads Nordsveen happened to stumble upon a breathtaking sight of a rare white baby reindeer, standing in pure white snow. 

It's amazing that Nordsveen even spotted the little beauty in the first place, due to it's natural surrounding as the perfect camouflage. 

That we're thankful he did spot the calf or else we wouldn't have these lovely images. 

Meet Milkshake! A rare pug who is completely pink with an irresistible squishy face and lovely baby blue eyes. Milkshake is 17-months-old and has already gained a lot of attention on social media!

His Instagram account has a following of over 58k and continues to grow! 

His unique coloring is caused by a lack of pigmentation inherited from an albino pug somewhere down the line of his lineage. And when his owner, Maria, first spottted the pug amongst his brothers and sisters, she just knew he was the one for her. 

Hooray for wholesome and triumph moments, during this insane time! 

We definitely will soak up any good news coming our way, because we all need it. Need to hear it and need to share it. 

The South Philippine Dwarf Kingfisher was first discovered 130 years ago in 1890.

Since then, it's eluded scientists for over a hundred years because of how difficult it is to see and how is quietly darts from perch to perch, seemingly invisible.

In March 2020, a Filipino biologist, Miguel David De Leon, was able to capture the ultra-rare and mysterious bird. 

Photographed for the first time in the history of mankind, presenting the South Philippine Dwarf Kingfisher! 

Story via Esquire Mag

Off the coast of Australia, near Lady Elliot Island, the world's only known pink manta ray has once again been spotted! 

Nicknamed "Inspector Clouseau," after the the main character of the classic "The Pink Panther," was photographed by Kristian Laine. 

According to Laine, she was original confused when seeing the pink manta, believing the ray's vibrant hue was due to a camera malfunction. Laine told Australian Geographic, "I was in the middle of a manta train with seven other mantas. I was looking through my viewfinder and was thinking it's weird that one of the mantas looks pink. I actually thought my strobes were playing up, making the manta look pink."

When she returned to land, Laine discovered that the sighting was authentic, and later took to Instagram to share photos of the "amazing and absolutely unforgettable encounter."

The last, and first, time the rare manta ray was spotted was in 2015, by diving instructor Ryan Jeffery off Lady Elliot Island (once again). 

The pink coloring on this manta ray remains a mystery. Project Manta's Asia Armstrong said, "The working theory is that it is just a different and very unique expression of the melanin, but that is still to be confirmed."

In 1911, a group of scientists and adventurers left Hobart under the leadership of Dr Douglas Mawson. They were bound for Macquarie Island and then, to the unknown parts of Antarctica. The scientists of the expedition achieved enormous information that later made a major contribution to the knowledge of the region. Here are some amazing photos from their adventure, including some adorable seals and penguins. 

Via: Vintage Everyday  

Meet the cutest "Frankenstein" you'll ever see --Frankenkitten!

Frankenkitten had a rough start, a stray out in the streets and born with special needs. After homeowners noticed the kitten, along with his sibling, they surrendered the two to the Geelong Animal Welfare Society in Victoria, Australia. 

Immediately upon arrival, Frankenstein was causing quite the buzz throughout the shelter -- a cat born with four ears and one normal eye. 

Story viaCole and Marmalade

The silver-backed chevrotain, a mammal believed to have gone extinct to science, was spotted by cameras in Vietnam forests for the first time in nearly 30 years.

Meet Narwhal! Paw-bably the best name ever for this individual pup! Why? Narwhal has a tail growing exactly where a Narwhal's horn would be! 

Some are even calling it a 'unicorn horn.'

Narwhal might be the rarest pup around! Being a "magical unicorn" and all. Mac's Mission, a Missouri-based rescue, found Narwhal wandering outside in the freezing cold with another, older pup. Mac's Mission came to the rescue and they were surprised to find a little growth protruding from between the little pup's eyes. 

While the growing tail is completely nonfunctional, luckily it is not attached to anything life threatening! The experienced vet saw no reason at this time for the unicorn tail to be removed. 

We love you, Narwhal! Two tails just makes you twice as cute! 

An extremely rare spotted zebra was spotted (no pun intended) in Maasai Mara! A photographer at the Maasai Mara camp was completely surprised to come across the rare "blacker" newly born zebra. Mr Antony Tira, a renowned tour guide at the camp was able to photograph the black-dotted foal and posted it on the camp's Facebook page, where it has gained a lot of media attention. 

Tira told Nation, "At first I thought it was a zebra that had been captured and painted or marked for purposes of migration. I was confused when I first saw it." Upon closer inspection, Tira realized it was actually a zebra with melanin disorder, hardly a week old.

This is Mara's first record case of such a rare zebra.

Story via Nation

There are different types of depigmentation in felines; Leukoderma ("white skin"), leukotrichia ("white hair") or vitiligo, which leaves cats with a "snowflake" appearance. All the conditions are very rare and purely cosmetic, meaning the animals who have the rare condition aren't physically affected by it.

Vitiligo is one form of leukoderma. It usually causes loss of pigment on the face and feet, and this form of vitiligo has been linked to cats that derived from South-East Asian (Siamese, Burmese and related breeds). 

Learn more about Vitiligo at MessyBeast

The extremely rare strawberry leopard has been photographed for the very first time up close! The image was caught by a couple, Alan and Lynsey Watson, in Thaba Tholo Wilderness Reserve. The couple had seen the leopard skulking around the reserve before but was never able to capture it on film. 

The strawberry leopard gets its name due to its unusual reddish skin pigmentation. The images the Watson's managed to get show the pink-hued creature feasting on the carcass on a giraffe, which had been kill during an intense thunderstorm. 

Story via Fox News

Kurt Cobain was an animal lover and even considered opening a petting zoo. Kurt has said he liked cats over dogs because they don't care about anything that they don't find worth their time.