Approximately one out of every 10,000 mammals born on earth are albino. It is extremely rare in animals and there have been very few cases of albino animals being well-documented. From time to time, an albino animal is born and in these pictures, you will see something truly amazing.
These photographs were taken by Nicki Coertze, a photographer who was on an African safari. He was simply taking pictures one day when he saw something rather spectacular. It was a baby pink elephant, and it is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for any photographer.
There is always the possibility that of albino animal will be rejected by the rest of the family, but we hope that is not the case with this baby elephant. It seems as if he is blending in quite nicely with the rest of the herd at this point.
Nicki Coertze snapped this picture while on safari in Africa. He was on vacation with his family and taking pictures of African elephants when he saw a baby calf with bright pink ears and pink colored skin.
The elephant in this picture has albinism, a rare condition among African elephants. The reason why this baby elephant appears to be pink is because he is lacking in pigment in his skin. Albinism is considered to be hereditary among elephants.
It is difficult to determine how this condition will affect such a young elephant, especially as he gets older. There is no doubt that he will face many trials, but fortunately for him, he is growing up inside the safety of a national park.
One of the primary concerns for this young elephant is sun exposure, which could darken his skin and cause various problems. Blindness may also be another issue later in life.
Despite the struggles that he may face, he seems to be perfectly happy at this time being among his friends and family inside of the herd. Cortez, the photographer, had the following to say:
“I took some lovely shots of the pink elephant. Some of the shots show it framed by the legs of another elephant, you can really see the contrast in color between the two as the calf shows off its unique pinkness beautifully.”
This is not the first time that Cortez has been at this national park. He had been visiting the park since he was a child but he has never seen an albino elephant before. He considers it to be a once-in-a-lifetime sighting.
As is the case with many species, albino elephants look quite different from the rest of the herd. They may even be rejected by the rest of the elephants because of their differences. For now, it seems as if this young elephant is doing quite well with the others.
Via: Little Things
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