Although an albino squirrel (just like any other albino animal) is a very rare sight, there have been several encounters of these magical creatures in the UK’s city parks only this year alone and it is just February.
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Earlier this year, a rare albino squirrel has been spotted in a park in southern England. The cute animal catch all the eyes as it was searching for some food. Shortly after, snaps of the rare sight went viral on internet. And it could not had been otherwise since only one squirrel in 100,000 is born white, according to Forestry Commission in the UK. However, things might look different.
I miss this little one so much ☹️ thinking of him ahead of #SquirrelAppreciationDay 🤍 #squirrel #whitesquirrel #albinosquirrel #wildlife #nature #photography #Winterwatch #wednesdaythought pic.twitter.com/CHyNyeOKqS
— White Squirrels of Sussex & UK🤍 (@White_Squirrels) January 20, 2021
Since the albino squirrel sight, over 200 other white squirrel have been spotted in the Uk. There’s even a website named White Squirrels of Sussex, created by Claire Brimacombe, where people can show images or footages of albino squirrels in England.
Last sight of a white squirrel happened days ago, when Steven Groat from Edinburgh captured a lovely footage of an albino squirrel playing in the snow.
Lovely sighting of a rare albino white squirrel at Hutchison causeway #whitesquirrel #edinburgh @EdinburghLive_ @edinspotlight @edinburghpaper @edinburgh pic.twitter.com/tkTOOEl2EG
— Steven Groat (@stevengroat2020) February 13, 2021
Albinism is a very rare condition caused by the lack of melanism (the skin coloration pigment) and it affects the fur or skin color and the eyes. Although an albino animal looks very cute, this condition causes lots of health and social issues for these animals. They frequently suffer of poor eyesight and they’re rejected by their groups. They are also extremely vulnerable in front of predators due to their lack of natural camouflage.
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