Aussie brothers stunned by rare animal encounter near outback road: 'Holy moly'
Albino kangaroos are the result of a genetic mutation – and it's not always easy to find them in the wild.
A pair of Aussies have shared their delight after coming across what they described as "one of the rarest sites in the outback" after pulling over on a remote, dusty road this week.
The brothers who share scenes from their life in remote Australia online can be heard describing their glee as they stopped to get a closer look at a kangaroo they spotted with a rare condition, giving it a ghost-like appearance.
"No way, an albino kangaroo!
"Just pulled over on the old outback way, to an albino kangaroo," one of them can be heard saying.
In a clip posted to TikTok on Friday, the white kangaroo can be seen hopping away with others from its mob.
"Holy moly," one of the brothers says.
"You can check that off your bucket list," the other chimes in.
Aussie react to 'rare' outback encounter
White kangaroos are rare, occurring just once in every 50,000 to 100,000 individuals.
Professor Ary Hoffman from the University of Melbourne, an expert in ecological genetics, previously told Yahoo News that colour variations can have problematic impacts for wild animals. In addition to hampering their ability to camouflage, the affect is believed to be largely "detrimental" to their health, with their vision often impaired as a result of the mutation.
"The albino kangaroo is a 1 in a 100,000 roo skin mutation, they usually don't live long making them even rarer," the brothers claimed when sharing the video.
While many Aussie questioned just how rare they were, some admitted to not knowing such roos existed.
"Didn’t know there was such a thing," one person commented.
"I was lucky enough to see three together when I was really young. Haven’t seen any since then though," another person commented.
"I’m seriously convinced albino animals are our equivalent to real shiny Pokemon!" one person joked.
Albino kangaroos sometimes targeted
Despite their scarcity, the animals are sometimes specifically targeted by commercial shooters during culls of large kangaroo mobs, with some even previously confessing to mounting them as trophies.
Environment departments in Victoria, Tasmania, NSW and South Australia along with the Commonwealth have previously confirmed to Yahoo that wildlife with a white genetic mutations receive no special protection.
In 2021, the death of a white kangaroo at a sanctuary in Victoria sparked worldwide heartbreak after the little roo, named Angel, gained an international following on social media.
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