In this April 20, 2019, photo released by Wolong National Nature Reserve, an all white giant panda is captured by an infra-red triggered remote camera in southwest China. Photos / AP file
An all-white, albino panda that has appeared in a natural reserve in China, is the first of its kind to be documented, an expert said this week.
The panda was photographed in April with an infrared camera at the Wolong National Nature Reserve in the southwestern province of Sichuan, local
authorities said in a statement.
Li Sheng, who belongs to the Species Survival Commission of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, said it was the first recorded image of a wild giant panda that is fully white. There have been sightings of brown-and-white pandas in Qinling, a mountainous region in the northwestern Chinese province of Shaanxi.
The white panda's appearance is caused by albinism, a rare genetically inherited condition that prevents the normal synthesis of melanin, resulting in white hair or pale skin, as well as reddish eyes. Giant pandas are one of eight bear species, and albinism has been recorded in many other species of bears, though rarely.
"I personally think it's quite random for it to be discovered, since albinism manifests itself so infrequently," Li said in a telephone interview. "This was recorded just in time."
