Extremely Rare White Squirrel Spotted In The UK

Wildlife photographer Andrew Fulton spotted an extremely rare white squirrel in Marbury Country Park, Northwich, UK.

“It was my first time seeing a white squirrel as they are so rare, but hopefully it won’t be the last,” Andrew says. “It took me a while to find the squirrel even though I knew there was one in the park due to word of mouth and other people reporting it,” he adds.

There’re roughly 5 million grey squirrels in the UK, but only one in a million is affected by leucism, a loss of pigmentation. Unlike albinism, leucism doesn’t turn the eyes red or affect the animal’s eyesight.

More info: rambleswithcamera.blogspot.It

Wildlife photographer Andrew Fulton spotted an all white squirrel in Marbury Country Park, Northwich, UK

Extremely Rare White Squirrel Spotted In The UK

“I was so lucky to see the squirrel! It isn’t albino but pure white so it was something very special,” Andrew says

Extremely Rare White Squirrel Spotted In The UK

Turns out, the poor creature is suffering from an extremely rare gene mutation called leucism, a loss of pigmentation

Extremely Rare White Squirrel Spotted In The UK

This phenomenon is so rare that only one in a million is affected by it

Extremely Rare White Squirrel Spotted In The UK

Unlike albinism, leucism doesn’t affect the eyes – they don’t turn red and animals retain their good eyesight

Extremely Rare White Squirrel Spotted In The UK

Watch the video here: