Rare Albino Seal spotted in Russia's Tyuleny Island, marine biologist shares video

In a very rare sighting, an albino seal pup has been identified in Russia's Tyuleny Island, and the video of the same was shared on Instagram by a marine mammal biologist, Vladimir Burkanov. The exceptional creature stands out from the rest of its black-furred peers as it sports ginger fur, blue eyes, and pink flippers. The researchers have nicknamed the rare pup as 'Ugly Duckling'. 

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Burkanov shared a video on the photo-sharing platform which shows the albino seal pup sticking out with black-furred seals. The biologist while sharing the video captioned the post, "Ugly duckling' - albino fur seal is rare event. ... looks more red than white. This is a clear albino without any pigmentation even in eyes". 

Rare occurrence

According to the Daily Mail, the rare occurrence of an albino seal is about a 1 in 100,000 chance — and they can be at risk of being rejected by other seals. Burkanov was reported to have said that the seal he spotted isn't completely shunned and added that it looks very active and well-fed. He also added that the rare specimen is not getting chased or bitten by other seals. He further added that the animal experts are closely monitoring the seal and are planning to intervene if the rare pup could not adapt itself to the community and need outside care. 

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Burkanov also posted a separate Instagram picture in which he shared information about a similar case of an albino seal. He captioned, "A photo of an albino (partial albino or chromist) fur seal pup aroused the interest of visitors to my page. I tried to find information on the age of similar unusual color of young fur seal, my former student, and now a colleague Sergey Fomin photographed at the Severo-Zapadnoe rookery on the Bering Island in fall 2017 (sic)". 

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