Every now and then, the bush throws us a surprise, and on this specific day, there were two surprises, and no, they didn’t include any predators, but quite the opposite. As the sun rose over the eastern horizon, we had planned to go out and look for a leopard. An excited vehicle of people, ranger and tracker included, we meandered our way into the southeastern parts of the reserve in search of the Nkoveni Female and her son, the Shingi Male.
Rising the first crest, we came across a herd of impala, and the first surprise was waiting. Amongst the herd, there was a flash of white… There it was again. Binoculars up, we gazed into the somewhat different blue eyes of an impala lamb. The front left flank of the impala lamb was white. The neck and face looked slightly different; we had come across a semi-white impala lamb. WOW.
The striking white flank of this impala lamb caught our attention very quickly. A closer look exposed the blue eyes. What a special morning.
The second surprise came later that day on the afternoon game drive. After hearing that a herd of buffalo were found in the morning, we explored the open grasslands of the southwest in search of this group of buffalo that was reportedly no less than 600 individuals, and this was correct. Spread out amongst a few mud wallows, because of our recent rains, hundreds of buffalo bathed in the mud, trying to escape the heat of the day. Among the group, a buffalo cow and calf lay away from the herd, and again the cow was littered with white spots. Not to the extent of the impala lamb we had come across that morning, but nonetheless she looked a little different.
At first, I thought the white spots might have been dried mud, but on closer inspection, it wasn’t. Not only was this buffalo’s fur white, but the skin in these spots also lacked the presence of melanin.
Both these sightings got me thinking. Both animals were blemished with white markings, but it wasn’t enough to consider them albino. This is a condition known as leucism. But what exactly is the difference?
What is Leucism?
Leucism occurs because of a genetic variation that affects pigment cells in the body. Pigment cells are responsible for creating melanin, which gives an animal their normal skin, hair and fur colouring. In leucistic animals, these pigment cells fail to develop fully or simply do not reach certain parts of the body, and as a result, white/bland patches occur, such as the impala lamb and buffalo cow above.
My next thought was how this would affect the animal’s safety? In prey species like impala, being easily noticed could be risky, but many animals with small patches or spots live perfectly normal lives, which gives me hope for the little impala lamb. The fact that the buffalo was a fully grown cow with a calf tells me her life was not hindered at all by her “beauty” spots.
The horizontal pupil of prey species is often spoken about but hard to see, and the blue eyes of this lamb allowed us to take a close look. The horizontal pupil allows these animals to have a panoramic view that allows them to see up to 300 degrees around them.
What is Albinism?
Often confused with leucism, albinism is the condition where animals cannot produce melanin at all. These animals are completely white, often have pink eyes and pink noses, and as a result often have poor eyesight, and their skin can be incredibly sensitive to sunlight.
The fact that these animals would stand out a lot more in the wild means they face much greater challenges in terms of survival. Very rarely do they make it to adulthood.
An example of an albino buffalo calf captured by Sean Zeederberg this time two years ago.
After everything that has been said, I am hopeful for the impala lamb. Although this little animal stands out now, if she manages to evade a few predators in her early years, there’s hope she will live to adulthood.
I find it amazing how individuality still attracts the attention of everyone. An often overlooked species entertained us for a good 20 minutes just because this impala lamb stood out. A sighting like this is a stark reminder that you never know what you’re going to come across out in the bush. There is always room for the unexpected in the wild.
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on When The Bush Paints Outside The Lines- Leucistic Impala and Buffalo