Chinese nature reserve releases world’s first image of an albino giant panda in the wild
- All-white beast spotted wandering through the Wolong National Nature Reserve in Sichuan province
- Bear is probably one or two years old and looks perfectly healthy, scientist says
China on Saturday released the world’s first ever photograph of an albino giant panda in the wild.
The image of the bear walking through the Wolong National Nature Reserve in the southwestern province of Sichuan last month was captured by a motion activated camera at an altitude of about 2,000 metres above sea level, China News Service reported.
It clearly shows the animal’s unique physical characteristics including its snowy white hair and claws, and red eyes.
“This is the first time a fully albino wild giant panda has been caught on camera, indicating there must be a gene mutation in the giant panda population,” Li Sheng, a researcher at Peking University’s School of Life Sciences, was quoted as saying.
“Judging from the photo, the panda is physically strong and taking steady steps, suggesting the gene mutation is not affecting its normal life.”