The gallery below shows a rare scene: An adult brown bear with its white cub. Has the brown bear adopted a polar bear baby? 

Although at first glance you would be forgiven for thinking this cute cub is some kind of lost polar bear, these stunning photos actually show one of a kind European Brown Bear who is almost entirely white. 

British photographers Kyle Moore and Harry Read first spotted the unique bear drinking and playing with its mother and siblings in the Kuhmo region of eastern Finland last year. As the bears disappeared into the forest for their hibernation, the pair knew that it was unlikely they would ever see this one of a kind animal again, yet through sheer luck, upon returning to the location again this family of bears reappeared and the cub was older and larger but still kept its rare white coat. The duo observed the creature's behavior right up until its hibernation this September. They estimate they have spent a collective 1,500 hours documenting the animal, spending a total of 730 hours in bear hides in 2019 alone.

Many animals may have albinism, which means the animal is absent of any pigmentation, resulting in white hair and pink eyes. The rare white cub is apparently not albino, as its eyes and nose are not pink. Its condition is more likely leucism, in which there is partial loss of pigmentation in an animal and thus causes pale color. 

(All pictures via VCG)

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