A spotless, all-white Albino Panda spotted in Chinese wilderness

• Ordinarily known for being black and white, the world’s first all-white giant panda was spotted in the Chinese wilderness.
• The ‘Albino Panda’ was caught on an infrared camera in the Wolong National Nature Reserve.
• Giant pandas are an endangered species and albinism doesn’t occur in a lot of animals — so the Albino Panda is rarest of the rare.

The world’s first An Albino Panda has been spotted in China. And, it’s not to be confused with a polar bear that’s migrating too far south.

An all-white panda —without black spots— was caught on an infrared camera roaming among the bushes in Sinchuan province’s Wolong National Nature Reserve.

The rare genetic disorder of albinism has only been spotted in a select few animals so far — like dolphins, kangaroos, deer, squirrels and an inbred gorilla named ‘Snowflake’, who passed away in 2003. Those inflicted with it lack pigmentation in the skin, eyes and hair.


The photo of the panda was taken back in April, but was released to the press only this month.

The rarest of rare

Giant pandas are endangered species with less 2,000 left all over the world. Their rarity along with sparse occurrence of albinism in animals makes the Alibino Panda the rarest of them all.

It’s not that giants pandas haven’t mutated in the past. In 1985, the world’s first brown panda was spotted in the Chinese mountains.


The Panda seems unaffected by the adverse effects of albinism so far. Li Sheng, a researcher with Peking University, told CCTV, “The panda looked strong and his steps were steady, a sign that the genetic mutation may not have quite impeded its life.”

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