Leucistic opossum in California September 2011. Karen Franklin, who lives in the Panhandle Annex neighbourhood of Richmond, California, heard an animal disturbing her chickens, so she set a trap to catch what she thought would be a raccoon or a cat. Karen was very surprised when she saw what the culprit was - A white, leucistic opossum. Karen let the animal go, but not before she had taken a couple of photos.
Opossum or Possum?
Strictly speaking, possums are natives of Australia, and opossums are native to the Americas - though they are often called possums.
Leucism (or Leukism)
Leucism is a very unusual condition whereby the pigmentation cells in an animal or bird fail to develop properly. This can result in unusual white patches appearing on the animal, or, more rarely, completely white creatures.
See Photo at:
http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/possum-white.html
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment
You only need to enter your comment once! Comments will appear once they have been moderated. This is so as to stop the would-be comedian who has been spamming the comments here with inane and often offensive remarks. You know who you are!