rare

Rare animals are... well, rare to come by. And this golden penguin is no exception! One wildlife photographer, Yves Adams, has won nature's lottery by being the first to spot and capture a never-before-seen yellow penguin. The penguin is a King penguin, potentially the very first of its kind. 

Yves Adams believes that the yellow penguin spotted on an island in South Georgia is leucistic. Leucism is a condition that results in the partial loss of pigmentation. Whereas albinism is the absence of melanin, leucism is only partial, which can make the animal have white or patchy colored skin, feathers, or hair. 

In an interview with the Independent, Yves Adams had this to say about the rare and unique moment he first spotted the yellow penguin, "I'd never seen or heard of a yellow penguin before. There were 120,000 birds on that beach, and this was the only yellow one there. They all looked normal except for this one. It really was something else. It was an incredibly unique experience. One of the birds looked really strange, and when I looked closer it was yellow. We all went crazy when we realized. We dropped all the safety equipment and grabbed our cameras."

Adams continued, "We were so lucky the bird landed right where we were. Our view wasn't blocked by a sea of massive animals. Normally it's almost impossible to move on this beach because of them all. It was heaven that he landed by us. If it had been 50 metres away, we wouldn't have been able to get this show of a lifetime."

This isn't the first time we've seen rare golden animals out in the wild, but it is the very first golden penguin! 

We love cats. That's a fact. All of you here who have clicked on this list love cats completely. That means, of course, that you love all cats, not just our cute house kitties, not just the dangerous and awwdorable big cats, but every single criminally underappreciated small wild cat that there is, and today, you're going to be able to give these wild kitty cats all the love that they deserve.

They're dangerous, they're super duper cute. We want to pet each and every one of them even though we know they're dangerous. They're just... so cat-like-looking, and our brains automatically want to pet every single cat that they see. Well, we can love them from afar, at least. 

Do you ever just feel... done with everything? Viscachas totally get you. They are cute, they are fluffy, they are soft, but my goodness, they are grumpiness encapsulated. Whoever knew that something so cute could look so done with life. 

They remind us of cats in that sense. Fluffy and cute but also really, really done with our human shenanigans. Still, viscachas take the win on this one, because at least cats are happy sometimes. Viscachas really are just... perpetually done. We understand them though. We get it. And considering not only how relatable they are, but also how painfully adorable they are, we would like to officially announce them as our spirit animals.

Be still our beating hearts! If these images aren't the most darling images you'll see all day...

On November 6th, four white lion cubs were born at the Nantong Forest Safari Park in Jiangsu, in east China. The cubs, all males, are expected to make their very first public debut this upcoming Saturday. Images below show the cubs playing with one another and being pampered by the safari park keepers, and quite honestly, it may just be too much cuteness to handle! 

Interesting fact, native to South Africa, there are currently only 13 known white lions in the wild today. Their rare fur color is caused by a genetic mutation, according to the Global White Lion Protection Trust. 

We're wishing these beautiful cubs a long and healthy life! 

Story via DailyMail

After the horrendous bushfires in Australia that burnt almost half of the island, killing a significant number of wild animals, we finally have some good news! As reported by ABC news, in the recovery efforts, the conservation group Kangaroo Island Land for Wildlife found a tiny creature that they feared might have been wiped out by the fires - the world's tiniest possum, the pygmy possum.

These tiny guys who weigh no more than 7 grams and who can easily sit on top of your finger are found in very few places in the world - that is, if you can find them at all. Their size not only makes them hard to study, it also makes them quite elusive little beings. 

Pat Hodgens, a Fauna ecologist, said that the little possums' discovery is really exciting, and we agree! "There's only really been 113 formal records of the species [ever on Kangaroo Island]," he told ABC news. "So certainly not very common and, obviously, the summer bushfires burnt through much of that habitat that species had, but we were certainly hopeful that we would find them."

Their conservation group is going "to try to do everything we can to protect them to ensure that they hang around during this pretty critical time". He added: "It's very important now because it is kind of like the last refuge for a lot of these species that really rely on very old long, unburned vegetation."

There are still many other rare species who have not been spotted after the fires, but this is wonderful news, and we wish Mr. Hodgens and all the other people doing amazing work luck with finding all the species they're looking for. And sometimes, in Australia, people manage to find species they weren't look for. 

Vitiligo is a skin condition in which the skin loses pigmentation. Having vitiligo often results in discolored patches in different areas of the body. It's not only pets who have these conditions, humans can have it as well. 

The good news is, having it doesn't affect your health at all, it's not life-threatening in any way or contagious. It could affect ones self-esteem, however. 

Here are 30 absolutely unique and gorgeous animals of all sorts who have vitiligo! Let them know just how beautiful they truly are! 

It's the rarest cat pic of them all. The Holy Trinity. 

The Holy Trinity is the combination of three elements:

1. The presence of toe beans

2. Teefies, of any size

3. The display of the holy belly

The three elements combined create the rarest cat pic and The Holy Trinity. We won't lie, it was difficult assembling these images and some vids together for you. There's not much out there. Hopefully, with this knowledge of the rarest pic, others will spread the news and we'll have more than enough Holy Trinity pics to share with all of you. 

Wow, wow, wow. 

Picture this: you're on a safari at the Tadoba Reserve, in India, when all of a sudden you spot a black leopard drinking water from a pond. That's what happened to 23-year-old Abhishek Pangis, who watched the rare black leopard for a total of 40 minutes! 

Can you imagine what a sight that must have been? Luckily, Pangis took some photos so we can see the majestic black leopard for ourselves. In an interview with LADBible, Pangis explains how he felt when first spotting the rare wildcat.

Still, must have been breathtaking to see it in person! 

Story via DailyMail

Watching a male peacock flashing his colorful tail feathers is definitely a spectacular sight.  

But what about the rare white peacocks? Can they make a dazzling appearance even without all those bold colors?

As you can see from the photos below, the answer is yes!

Contrary to the belief, those beautiful white peafowls are not albino. They are suffering from a genetic mutation called leucism, which prevents the pigments from being deposited into their feathers, leaving them with a total white appearance. 

With more than 150 feathers that reach their full length at the age of two, these rare peacocks are just as feisty and beautiful as their colorful counterparts. While some of them can be found in the wild, it's more common for white peacocks to be the result of selective breeding in captivity, where they can live for up to 50 years.

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.