Thanks to my mom for posting this interesting album on facebook…
The WHNT news website, serving the huntsville, AL area, posted a photo album featuring photos culled from multiple sources of rare and exotic animals that either completely lack pigment (albinism) or have severely muted coloring (leucism). The photos below represent my favorite submissions:
One of the reason these conditions tend to be on the rarer side is they make an organism tend to stand out in their natural habitat which can increase levels of predation; apparently the same can be said for humans suffering from albinism. According to the New York Times, there has been a rash of murders aimed at albino Tanzanians because their body parts are believed to have magical powers. Officials are trying to protect their local albino population but are still failing in many regards. Beyond being fearful for their lives, albinos living in the country are also struck with health problems related to the large degree of sun exposure in that part of the world. Read the full article here.
A Bit of Stardust 