One of a kind
A rare albino giant panda – believed to be the only one of its kind – is seen in the wild in southwestern China. Images of the all-white animal were released by the Wolong National Nature Reserve in Sichuan province, CCTV reported.
The panda was believed to be about five or six years old, and did not appear to be suffering from any health problems, the report said.
The animal was first spotted by the reserve’s cameras in April 2019, at about 2,000 metres above sea level. The reserve released the first images of the bear in
May that year, showing its white fur and red eyes. Reserve authorities have since set up a special team to monitor the panda, according to CCTV.
The researchers studied the bear’s routine, and installed and adjusted motion-activated cameras to capture its movements.
The new footage also shows the bear interacting with several regular black-and-white giant pandas at about 2,600 metres above sea level, according to a report from state-run People’s Daily.
It was the first albino giant panda recorded in the wild, Li Sheng of Peking University’s school of life sciences was quoted as saying in the CCTV report.
“It is still unclear whether its gene will be inherited and steadily passed on in the small panda population, and more follow-up research is needed,” he said.
China also discovered 10 rare brown giant pandas in the wild between 1985 and 2021, according to state media.
Among them is a male named Qizai, who was first spotted in 2009 at the Foping National Nature Reserve in Shaanxi province in the northwest.