18 Comments

on Albino Elephant

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Etienne Oosthuizen
Guest

I have seen something similar in Lake Manyara NP in Tanzania, http://blog.africageographic.com/safari-blog/photography/suspected-albino-elephant-sighted-in-tanzania/ … did this elephant have white hairs as well or just the blue eyes?

Hi Etienne,

Thank you for the link, I also found it when I was look for similar cases. This little calf didnt seem to have any white hairs as far as we could see but it is very possible that both cases are different forms of albinism.

Thanks for the input, lets hope this little one gets to adulthood!
Kate

heather thompson
Guest

Jess, I think this calf is pretty darn lucky to be born near or on Londolozi and I’m hopeful she/he will live to adulthood, as long as she is near or on Londolozi or MalaMala.

Guest contributor

This is very cool! What a special thing to see… thanks for the info Kate!

John Holley
Guest

Flip go Katie! Soon your knowledge will surpass that of David’s!

Hi Yennifer,

Thank you so much for the links, I have found it so interesting to find out more about it!

Regards,
Kate

Digital Ranger

Who’s deleted posts?

Yennifer Hernandez
Guest

PD Is an amazing animal I really hope that he can reach adulthood! Congrats for your conservation work!

Syl
Guest

Great blog & photos Kate. This herd was down in Sabi Sabi about a week ago.

Rowena Lafferty
Guest

David Shedrick Trust has an albino orphan. Were you able to see if the eyelashes were normal pigmented.

Hi Rowena,

Unfortunately we were unable to get pictures so close up in order to see the colour of it eyelashes. It seems as though its hair was normal pigmented but we are not sure. If we see this little one again we will be sure to try and get closer pictures.

Kate

Louise Leger
Guest

Hi Kate…there were three albino calves born at Amboseli this past year…the little one at the DSWT, being one of them, after his mother was poached in December. They were the first recorded in the forty years of studying elephants at Amboseli. They seem to be fine. Their mothers seem to be aware that their calves need a little extra help from the sun and keep them coated in mud. I don’t recall them having blue eyes so it is most likely a different form of albinism to this one. They are all lighter in colour than their cousins, with white hair covering their body, and white tail hair. Such a rare occurrence!

Hi Louise,

Thank you for the information. It is so fascinating! It must be a slightly different type of albinism, as you said, because the one we saw didn’t have white hair. So wonderful to know that the mothers are aware of it!

Regards,
Kate

I am told that only a ‘King’ can possess an albino elephant and it brings good luck….hence the term WHITE ELEPHANT.
Hope this little calf brings a lot of luck to Londolozi, the King of South Africa’s wildlife lodges.

Ian MacLarty
Guest

Great pics of this little fella Jess. Hope to see him/her later in the year.

Ian

Cindy CSAKANY
Guest

Is this little one still alive ?? I would like to have some news please.

Thank you =)

Your partial albino elephant was seen on #SafariLive just now (27 jan 2018 sunset drive). Good to see it’s doing well almost 5 years later!

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