Albino Animals

Albinism can occur in humans and animals. Albinism is caused by genetics and there are different types of albinism. There are some cases when some animals are mistaken to have albinism. Animals with albinism will face a lot of challenges in their life especially if they live in the wild and there are health concerns too.

 

An albino animal is albino because it has little or no melanin at all. Melanin is a dark pigment that is produced by the animal cells.(Miller, John. “All About Albinism | MDC.” MDC |.) It gives the animal it’s natural colouration. If the cells don’t make melanin then the animal’s nails, eyes, skin, and hair or scales will appear white or at least very light.(Miller, John. “All About Albinism | MDC.” MDC |. ) An albino animal is the result of  both of the parents carrying the albino gene and passing it on to their child.  Albino animals are very rare because the gene for it is a recessive trait and the usual colour of the animal is the dominant. Only a few animals carry the albino gene.(Miller, John. “All About Albinism | MDC.” MDC|)

 

I found out there are something called pure albinos, partial albinos, and leucistic animals people could mistake these animals for each other quite easily, since it’s kind of confusing, but there are certain ways people can tell if a animal is albino. A sure way of confirming if an animal is a pure albino is checking to see if the eyes of the animal are red or light blue. The animal could also have pink nails, scales, or skin because the blood vessels are seen through the skin because there is no  pigmentation. A partial albino animal has the normal colouration of it’s species but parts of it’s body will be white.(Miller, John. “All About Albinism | MDC.” MDC |.) Leucistic animals appear white and have white hair, scales, or skin but it’s eyes will have pigmentation making them a dark color. (Nair, Sonia. “Albinism in Animals.” Buzzle Web Portal: Intelligent Life on the Web.)

 

Albino animals do have some health risks. Since they don’t have their normal pigmentation to protect them from the sun rays they can suffer from sunburn and develop skin cancer. And they don’t have melanin in their eyes so they could develop eye conditions.(Nair, Sonia. “Albinism in Animals.” Buzzle Web Portal: Intelligent Life on the Web.) But they could also have enhanced night vision because of the amount of light that reaches their retinas.(Kristie, K. “10 Straight Facts About Albino Animals | Scienceray.” Scienceray | All That Is Science, Astronomy, Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics, Physics. K Kristie,) They also have to be careful if they live in the wild because they don’t have their normal pigmentation and will stand out to predictors if they are prey animals animals. If the albino animal  is a herd animal, then it could be ignored by the other members of the herd and chased  out of the herd too. If the albino animal is a predator then it would stand out to its prey and alert it and if it can’t adapt, then  it will die of starvation. Since a lot of species males species use their natural coloration to attract mates, an albino animal would have a hard time finding a mate.(Cliff, Grandpa. “Albino Animals – Introduction – Cliff Lamere.” Grandpa Cliff’s Science Website for Teenagers – Cliff Lamere.)

 

As you can see, there are a lot of diffferent factors that determine if an animal is a true albino or not. The added health risks these animals face also make them different to  the animal world. Like people though, each one is unique and special.

  

Bibliography

Cliff, Grandpa. “Albino Animals – Introduction – Cliff Lamere.” Grandpa Cliff’s Science Website for Teenagers – Cliff Lamere. 29 Jan. 2006. Web. 6 May 2011. .
Kristie, K. “10 Straight Facts About Albino Animals | Scienceray.” Scienceray | All That Is Science, Astronomy, Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics, Physics. K Kristie, 7 Apr. 2009. Web. 29 Apr. 2011. .
Miller, John. “All About Albinism | MDC.” MDC |. 2 June 2005. Web. 28 Apr. 2011. .
Nair, Sonia. “Albinism in Animals.” Buzzle Web Portal: Intelligent Life on the Web. 14 May 2010. Web. 29 Apr. 2011. .