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Doikiki
They are cream while others are cocoa; they are chalk while others are (exceptionally dark) cheese – these reptilian oddities are the albinos of the cold-blooded world. But how are albinos different from animals which are simply ‘white’, and does their condition cause them to perform differently in the great Darwinian game of life-and-death?

Oliver Tupman

Put simply, albinism is the lack of any colour pigment, not the presence of white pigment. Certain enzymes critical for the formation of the pigment melanin in particular are absent in albinos, resulting in this rare condition. Melanin ordinarily defines the colour of an animal’s eyes, skin and fur. Scientists have identified the gene thought to be responsible for making this happen – the TYR gene. If the TYR gene is damaged, the animal will be born without the ability to reliably form melanin. Other side-effects of this process include pink or red eyes, as the lack of pigment allows the blood vessels behind them to be seen.

Ryan E. Popline

Albinos are even less likely to occur in the animal world as they are among humans, which is partly what makes these alligators so rare. They, like albino humans, carry the recessive albinism gene. This means that both parents must carry the gene for the offspring to exhibit the trait. However, another effect of albinism being a recessive gene is that both parents may be carriers without actually exhibiting the trait themselves. This means that two ordinarily-coloured parents may give birth to a creamy-white albino offspring.

Rosemary Bliss

According to some, albinos face unique challenges in the struggle for life. A straightforward example is an animal that normally relies on its colouring to disguise itself within its environment. While albinism may not put out the polar bear too much, prey animals in darker habitats will be at risk if their instinct tells them to freeze in the hope that they will be camouflaged when this is not the case. Of course, this is not an issue that will particularly concern an alligator. But there are other factors associated with this condition that may…

Frank Kehren

In non-albinos, melanin forms a barrier within the skin that limits damage from UV rays, and the presence of sunlight against their skin itself triggers the production of more melanin. Those without hue are at risk from the burning sun. This problem is exacerbated in the case of reptiles, as they lack the ‘central heating’ system of mammals, and must rely on their external environment to regulate their body temperature. In practise, this often means that reptiles must lie in the sun for long periods of time in order to reach a sufficiently high temperature to facilitate their day-to-day activities. This is not always an option for the easily-scorched albino, which is quick to acquire hideous blistering and burns. Again, their own instinct is compelling them to act in a way which will result in their own demise.

Kakofanous

These factors are amongst the reasons why albinos are rare amongst animals – they don’t often survive long enough to perpetuate their genes, and as mentioned above, two carrier parents are required for the phenotype to manifest itself. Like all wondrous and rare creatures, mankind has had a long history of hunting them in order to preserve their uniqueness for the world to see. Fortunately, we now have photography instead…

Sources: 1,2, 3.

Tsu Nellis

Sources: 1,2, 3.

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