Hermit: a penguin with a peculiarity was spotted in Antarctica (8 photos + 1 video)

A rare penguin with all-white plumage has been spotted in Chile's Antarctic territory. It turned out that this cute creature has a unique feature.





In early January, an all-white subantarctic penguin was spotted in the Chilean Antarctic territory at the Gabriel Gonzalez Videla base. Its white plumage is caused by a genetic disease called leucism. This is a mutation that causes partial loss of pigmentation of the outer integument in animals. Sometimes this feature occurs as a result of injury, but most often it is genetic. This disease differs from albinism in that in leucism the birds' eyes and beaks are a normal color rather than red or pink.



"Leucism is a genetic disorder that can occur in some individuals and affects the pigmentation of the skin, feathers or fur. In leucism, cells are unable to produce certain pigments. It occurs naturally, and in many cases affects less than one percent of the population," says Dr. Lucas Kruger, Research Associate, Chilean Antarctic Institute.





Such penguins are vulnerable: due to their color, they can become easy prey for predators. According to scientists, this is not the first such case in this penguin colony. One white penguin has been observed in the colony for about eight years - it could be the same penguin or a relative. By the way, subantarctic penguins are listed in the Red Book of the International Union for Conservation of Nature: they are endangered, mainly due to a significant decline in the population on the subantarctic islands on which they live.