Seeing wild elephants on safari might be high on the bucket list of many, but tour operator Theo Potgieter and his guests recently had a 1 in 10,000 experience when they witnessed an albino elephant calf playing in the water.
Potgieter managed to capture video and images of the young bull, which he estimates to be around one year old, on February 9 in the Kruger National Park, South Africa and shared them on his social media page.
While elephants can be rejected from their herd for being albino this little bull has family to play with.
Image Courtesy of Theo Potgieter
The albino elephant calf appears pink due to a lack of the pigment melanin within the animal's skin cells. “Albinism in African elephants is by far more rare compared to Asian elephants. It is estimated that 1 out of 10,000 births will result in an albino elephant being born” Potgieter told IFLScience.
While some individuals with albinism can manage a perfectly healthy life, it does pose some potential medical issues for the young calf. Across the world in South America, a young anteater named Alvin is being monitored closely due to his albino fur and the harsh hot weather in the area.
“They sadly have many challenges that face them. Not only does the harsh African sun and its glare affect them, but they are usually rejected by some or the majority of their family group.” Continued Potgieter.
While elephants can be rejected by the group, they can also have problems with their eyesight.
“This little guy however seemed to have had the opposite reaction from his family. They totally enjoyed the cool water from the Olifants river & like human kids, they wrestled & played without a care in the world.” finished Potgieter.
For other animals, especially prey species, blending into their surroundings is much more difficult with a totally different color pattern to the one they would usually possess. Even captive albino animals face challenges such as the white alligator Thibadoux who swallowed 70 coins.
The fact these two are playing by the river is a good sign for family bonding.
Image courtesy of Theo Potgieter
In 2019, a similar pink albino calf was spotted in the Masai Mara in Kenya according to the Indian Times – but fortunately, like the new calf in South Africa, seemed to be looked after by his family.
