Everyone loves penguins. Thanks to adorable films like Happy Feet or Penguins of Madagascar, we find these black and white water birds quite charming. And when we think of penguins, it’s always the classic black and white feathering that comes to mind.
However, there was a pair of tourists who were treated to a very rare natural sighting of penguins after taking a tour of the Galapagos Islands.
As the Daily Mail reports, tour guide Jimmy Patino had taken two tourists out for a jaunt around the Punta Vicente Roca site, which is located on Isabela Island. During the tour, he noticed something unusual. As the tourists strained to get a better view, they realized that it was a very rare white penguin!
The remarkable sight of the penguin was quickly followed up with videos and photos taken of the rare animal to prove its existence. It is believed that the Galapagos penguin is living with leucism, which is a rare condition that affections pigmentation, causing partial pigmentation loss in a bird’s feathers. This gives the penguin a very rare white look.
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According to scientists from the Galapagos National Park this penguin is believed to be the first penguin of its kind to show signs leucistic pigmentation. As La Prensa Latina has reported, there are scientists who believe that no other penguin of this variety has ever existed in the history of the Galapagos Islands.
According to the local media outlet, they wrote, “In the Galapagos, there have been cases of albinism or leucism in sharks, lizards, lobsters, finches, among others. This is the first record of a penguin with this condition.”
While it’s highly probable that the bird’s pigmentation is a result of leucism, there have been no confirmations as the experts can’t test the bird.
The penguin was spotted on the largest island of the Galapagos archipelago, which is Isabela Island. There, the Punta Vicente Roca site is a popular tourist destination for boating and snorkeling, however, humans are not allowed onto the land itself
The post Tour Guide Spots Extremely Rare White Penguin On The Galapagos Islands appeared first on The Animal Rescue Site News.
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