At Wolong National Nature Reserve in China's Sichuan province, an albino giant panda has been spotted for the first time since 2019. It is probably the only one of its kind in the world.
He wears a snow-white coat and has red button eyes: probably the only albino giant panda in the world. In China, for the first time since 2019, the white giant panda was captured in the wild by an infrared camera in the mountains at about 2,300 meters, as reported by Insider Business.
The estimated five- or six-year-old animal was filmed by motion-activated cameras at Wolong National Nature Reserve. The reserve and nature reserve has set up the cameras to be able to follow the movements and routines of the unique white panda. He is one of 150 giant pandas, also known as giant pandas, that live on this reserve.
Probably the only albino giant panda in the world
After the first detection of the giant panda in 2019 by wildlife cameras, the reserve had established a team to monitor the panda's operations using the special cameras. In the spectacular shots, the rare specimen can now be seen together with a female, normal-patterned panda and a cub, among other things, as the business magazine writes online.
Giant panda (also called giant panda or bamboo bear)
Although the cute animals are predators, they feed almost exclusively on bamboo. As the heraldic animal of the WWF, they are symbolic of international species conservation. The giant panda is also China's national animal.
According to the WWF, giant pandas now live only in southwestern China. After the panda was displaced by humans, the individual specimens now live in seclusion in remote mountain regions between 1,500 and 3,000 meters above sea level. To preserve the breed, various protection and research programs have been launched.
The IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Red List of Threatened Species last classified the giant panda as endangered in 2016.
Albino giant panda: Genetic defects can cause diseases
In albino animals, there is a risk that genetic defects will trigger certain diseases. In the case of the rare giant panda, there are currently no acute health problems, as Li Sheng, a researcher at Peking University, reports: "So far, we can say that the white panda is doing very well in its species group and in its natural environment." According to Insider Business, he added, "It's still unclear whether the gene is inherited and passed on in the small panda population, and more research is needed."
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Video footage shows rare albino giant panda up close
On the YouTube channel of CCTV+, a Chinese video news agency, a compilation of the sensational footage was published. He Tingmei, the deputy chief executive of Wolong National Nature Reserve, also told the service, "With the ongoing investigations, experiments and tests, we are trying to find out if there are more white pandas in this area and what their status quo is." For example, the employees of the nature reserve are trying to collect DNA samples of the white panda in order to learn more about the rare animal.
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"A bamboo-eating polar bear" – users post funny comments
In the comments, YouTube users express their astonishment at the rare video footage:
- "Looks like a panda forgot to wear its glasses and boots. So cute!"
- "He's super duper rarely!"
- "A Polar Panda hybrid? 😍🤩🥳"
- "A vegetarian polar bear. ❤"
- "All about camouflage."
The unique shots from Chinese nature once again prove the amazing diversity of nature.