An Indian muntjac was born recently with albinism in a village in Yongsheng County, Lijiang City, southwest China's Yunnan Province. 

Rui Fengting, a villager from the Yongsheng County, found two uninvited guests among his goats on their return to their pen: a pair of light brown Indian muntjacs.

One later gave birth to a cub with very rarely seen white hair. Surprised, Rui alerted local authorities.

The  Indian muntjac generally has brownish or grayish hair; albinism is mainly the result of genetic mutations.

"The genetic mutation inside the albino animals makes them unable to normally synthesize pigments, so the whole body of the animals looks white or pink," said Li Sheng, a researcher of the Peking University School of Life Sciences. "Actually, there have been more and more records of albino animals. Among them, the number of herbivorous ones is relatively higher (than carnivores), which is possibly due to the former having more diverse species and a larger population." 

(Cover image via screenshot.)

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