Who knew that nature still had so many surprises in store for us? Humans are pretty much everywhere on the planet now, or at least our eyes are, and so you'd think we would have seen it all by now.
But, clearly, no, that's not the case. And, of all things, nature chose to surprise us with pandas!
There's a good reason why a group of pandas is called an embarrassment. It's almost magical how silly and goofy they are. How can you not love these creatures?
I mean, have you ever seen an all-white panda before? Of course not.
They're incredibly rare, so rare that they've never been captured on camera before. But Wolong National Nature Reserve in Sichuan, China, managed to grab one.
It's also home to a population of about 150 wild giant pandas. And, in late April, one of the reserve's infrared cameras caught the all-white panda making its way through the forest.
For one thing, given the lack of black spots and the panda's red eyes, it confirms that the albino genes exist in the wild population. "Judging from pictures, the panda is an albino, one to two years old,"
Li Sheng, a researcher at Peking University, told state media. Until now, brown and white pandas had been observed, but not albinos.
"The panda looked strong and its steps were steady, a sign that the genetic mutation may not have quite impeded its life," Li said. While albinism wouldn't cause any problems with its body structure, it could make the panda easier to spot in the wild, as well as making it more sensitive to sunlight.
Officials at Wolong National Nature Reserve plan to set up more cameras in hopes of getting more pictures of this rare panda.
h/t: Xinhuanet
