An adorable and rare sighting was caught on video by the researchers at Wolong National Nature Reserve in China’s Sichuan Province.
This was the first time that the albino panda was captured on video.
Though it was already observed and a photo was taken back in 2019.
The animal’s unique features wowed people, especially experts and animal lovers.
The first look of the all-white panda on video still amazed others as this is one of the rare occurrences in the animal kingdom.
Albinism in animals is few and far between, thus, anything that’s rare is very precious.
Since this condition prevents the production of melanin in the body, the supposedly black areas did not appear on the panda’s fur.
Instead, it has an off-white shade.
It is believed to be about five to six years old already.
The footage was captured in February but was only recently released by the state broadcaster in China.
The albino panda, as seen in the video, showed it was interacting with others unexpectedly.
Pandas are aggressive in nature, especially females with cubs.
“By the end of February, adult wild pandas in Wolong are in the estrus (mating) season, during which female pandas with cubs can be very aggressive when an adult panda approaches or invades,” said Engineer Wei Rongping of the China Conservation and Research Center for Giant Pandas.
He further explained that in the video, the female panda was very calm and did not behave aggressively as expected.
This gave a possibility that the female panda may have been the albino panda’s mother.
From the 15 recordings of this all-white panda, experts were relieved to see that other pandas did not treat the albino differently.
They were worried that, due to its difference in appearance, other pandas would reject the all-white bear.
The albino panda was still accepted by others.
Statistics have shown that albinism affects at least eight bear species, which in turn affects the animal’s eyes, hair, and skin.
These are rare conditions, and unfortunately, the ones who have these are easy targets for other predators due to their unusual color.
Though not much is known about this albino panda living at Wolong National Nature Reserve, researchers are still continuing their efforts to know more about it.
Would its offspring get the gene also or not?
Its sex is not yet known, either.
The people at the research facility are hoping to catch more videos of their elusive resident panda.
If possible, a DNA sample would also be great.
This will advance the knowledge and information about this unique panda.
The video has since been viewed a few thousand times already, more than a week after it was posted.
A user commented, “Awe cute. I can see a faint outline of whear the black hair should be. I wonder what sort of albinism the bear has. He looks sort of brown. Like his hair was bleached.”
Even with these mutations, nature still has its way to make them beautiful.
Here’s an actual video of the albino panda strutting along the snowy forest.
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