Rare creature – the only one of its kind – spotted wrestling in China, photos show
_fitted.png "Wildlife officials shared video captured at a nature reserve in China of a rare albino giant panda, believed to be the only one of its kind.")
A rare animal, believed to be the only one of its kind in the world, was spotted at a nature reserve in China, news outlets reported.
The Wolong National Nature Reserve, located in China’s Sichuan province, recently released video of an albino giant panda wandering in the wilderness, state-controlled outlet CCTV reported on May 27.
The video, captured in February, shows the pink-eyed, all-white panda interacting with two other pandas, with normal black-and-white coloration, believed to be a mother and her cub, according to the outlet.
The nature reserve also released photos that show the albino panda wrestling, and possibly mating, with another panda, according to state-run social media account iPanda.
“The reserve believes they were probably mating as the physical fight happened during breeding season,” the outlet reported.
The albino bear was first seen in 2019, and it is the only panda with the rare mutation ever documented in nature, officials said.
It was thought to be between 1 and 2 years old at the time it was discovered, The Guardian reported in 2019.
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Though albinism is often a fatal disadvantage in the animal kingdom, the panda seems to be doing well, officials said, CCTV reported. Staff will continue to monitor the panda and are trying to collect DNA to conduct further research.
Long the focus of wildlife conservation efforts, giant pandas have made a comeback as a species. As of 2021, China declared they are no longer endangered, with over 1,800 living in the wild, outlets reported.
This story was originally published May 29, 2023 at 9:16 AM with the headline "Rare creature – the only one of its kind – spotted wrestling in China, photos show."