New Delhi: The Indian Forest Services officers often share information about rare and wonderful creatures from our very vast nature. Recently, officer Akash Deep Badhawan shared a photograph of a rare albino fawn on Twitter, and it has wowed Twitter users.
''Staying true to its tagline, Katarniaghat – Where rare is common, an albino spotted deer fawn was sighted this morning,'' he wrote, sharing the picture.
In the picture, an albino fawn is seen moving through the grass in the wildlife sanctuary with an adult female deer.
IFS officer Parveen Kaswan shared the tweet and wrote, ''In nature exceptions are removed first. They are hard to adapt.''
IFS officer Susanta Nanda said he once saw a similar sighting in Odisha's Angul district 15 years ago. "Golden deer was part of Ramayana. Here is a silver deer shared by @aakashbadhawan. Had seen one at Labangi guest house of Angul District 15 years earlier," he wrote.
According to the National Geographic, while albino animals are rare, they have been spotted everywhere. These animals have a partial or complete loss of pigmentation resulting in pale skin as compared to other members of their species.
Albinism in mammals occurs when an individual inherits one or more mutated genes from both parents that interfere with the body’s production of melanin, the main pigment that determines the colour of skin, fur, and eyes.
Albino animals often face obstacles in nature as they have poor eyesight, which puts them at a disadvantage when hunting for food and avoiding danger. They also have trouble finding a mate, and their inability to camouflage themselves makes them vulnerable to predators.
However, in some cultures, the birth of an albino animal is seen as sacred.