From time to time nature brings out the exception among the crowd and gives us specimens of unique animals in the world, which have extremely unusual conditions in their genetic makeup. Previously, all kinds of species whose color does not correspond to what they are supposed to have had been observed. A pair of killer whales that seem to have lost their color roam the ocean. Ravens, crocodiles, moose and even white tapirs have also been sighted, but there were no records of pumas. But a strange sighting put Brazilian biologists on alert for the presence of an unusual white puma.
Image: Albino Raven
In the heart of the protected natural area of Brazil, a white puma was sighted, the first case of the feline species in the world. The cat with completely white fur was seen wandering through the Serra dos Órgãos National Park, which is located in the Atlantic Forest of southeastern Brazil. One of the largest tropical forests in South America, only after the Amazon.
Why does he have white fur?
According to the Chinco Mendes Institute for the Conservation of Biodiversity, it is not a puma with albinism, but a condition known as leucism. Often there is a tendency to confuse these two conditions, which, although both are generated by a genetic mutation, are not the same. Albinism is characterized by the absence of coloration in the skin, hair and eyes. It is produced by the absence of melanin, which is responsible for giving us the characteristic color of each of these elements.
On the other hand, the leucism condition preserves part of the colorations, although the lack of melanin is visible, it is not the complete absence. The biggest differentiating feature between the two cases are the eyes. Animals with albinism have red or pink eyes, since even these lack melanin. In contrast, leucistic animals retain normal coloration in their eyes.
The white puma that was sighted in Brazil does not have visible depigmentation in its eyes, indicating that it is actually a case of leucism and not albinism as one might think. However it may be, it is the first record in the world of a puma with this condition. It is not known exactly if its pristine fur works against it for survival, as it happens with other species that depend on color to camouflage themselves from predators.
The dynamics of its behavior and how it relates to its unusual coat color are almost completely unknown. This is because it was only observed once and biologists believe that detecting it again will be very difficult in any case.
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