World's Only Albino Panda Captured On Video In Rare Sighting

This is the first time the all-white animal has been seen on video and only the second time the rare panda has been spotted in China

An all-white panda, believed to be the only one of its kind in the wild, has made its second appearance at a nature reserve in China.

The panda, now believed to be 5 or 6 years old, was first spotted and photographed in 2019 at Wolong National Nature Reserve in China’s Sichuan province. Experts and animal lovers alike were wowed by the animal’s unique features then.

Now, people are getting their first look at the all-white panda on video and are still amazed by the rare bear. This famous animal has a rare genetic mutation that prevents it from producing melanin. Although other partially white pandas have been documented before, this is the only panda that is entirely white, according to BBC.

The video footage, captured in February but only recently released by China’s state broadcaster, shows the panda interacting with others unexpectedly.

All-White, Albino Panda Captured on Camera for the First Time in Chinese Forest

“By the end of February, adult wild pandas in Wolong are in the estrus (mating) season, during which female pandas with cubs can be very aggressive when an adult panda approaches or invades,” engineer Wei Rongping from the China Conservation and Research Center for Giant Pandas told China Daily.

“This female panda was extremely calm and did not behave as expected. One possibility is that she is the mother of the all-white panda,” he added.

Included in the 15 recordings made of the bear in February is footage of the albino panda interacting with black-and-white pandas. This clip is a welcomed relief to experts, who worried that other pandas might ostracize the all-white bear.

Albinism affects at least eight bear species and the pigmentation of an animal’s eyes, hair, and skin. The condition is rare, and unfortunately, wild animals usually make easier targets for predators because of their easy-to-spot coats.

Not much is known about the all-white panda living at the Wolong National Nature Reserve, including its 𝓈ℯ𝓍 and whether its offspring will inherit the same genetic mutation. Researchers are hoping to gather more videos of the panda — and possibly some DNA samples — to learn more about the unique animal.