The sole albino panda in the world is seen on camera exploring a Chinese nature reserve and socializing with other pandas.
Albino Panda in a Nature Reserve in China
The albino panda was seen by infrared cameras moving toward a mother and her youngster at the Wolong National Nature Reserve in the Sichuan province of China.
Amazing video captured the mother black-and-white panda maintaining her composure as the albino crept close to her and her youngster who was sleeping in a tree hollow.
The mother seemed to shoo the white panda away as it stopped and turned to look up at the cub.
The albino panda returned and smelled every location where the mother and baby had stayed after they had left the region themselves.
The female panda may be the mother of the albino panda, which would explain why it behaved so calmly, according to the reserve management authorities' statement on Saturday, The Straits Times reports.
The Only Albino Panda and its Family
The panda cub in the video is approximately one to two years old, and the albino panda is almost the size of an adult, according to Wei Rongping, a China Conservation and Research Centre for Giant Pandas senior engineer.
The oestrus season, when female pandas with cubs can become quite hostile when an adult panda advances or intrudes, has started for the wild pandas in Wolong at the end of February.
This female panda did not follow the norm because she was incredibly peaceful. The mother of the albino panda may be the female panda.
Authorities of Wolong National Nature Reserve claim there are another 15 videos depicting the three pandas converging in a brief period of time.
The unmistakable animal first came into view in April 2019 in the Wolong National Nature Reserve after infrared cameras photographed its figure at a height of about 2,000 meters, according to The Strait Times. At the time, experts estimated that the panda was between one and two years old.
The giant panda was identified as an albino since it had no markings on its body and unique red eyes. Experts say that it is the only albino panda in the world.
Given how infrequently albinism happens and that the animal is a member of a fragile species, it is extremely rare to come across an albino panda, whose condition is brought on by a genetic mutation, Mail Online reports.
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Giant Pandas in China
In China, giant pandas are prized as a national treasure and are primarily found in the southwest, where they make practically all of their homes out of bamboo.
There are approximately 1,864 pandas in the wild, according to the WWF, an organization that has used a panda as its logo since its founding in 1961.
The wild panda population was rebounding in 2017, according to the conservation organization, and its category has been reclassified from endangered to vulnerable.
The IUCN has recently revised the panda's position on the Red List of Threatened Species after 30 years of modest but consistent improvement. The choice honors the lengthy efforts of the Chinese government, neighborhood residents, staff members of nature reserves, and WWF. However, the panda's long-term viability is still in doubt, WWF reports.
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