Good Nature White, Wild Animals and Why Difference Shouldn’t Be Wrong Posted by Candice Gaukel Andrews | May 2, 2017 | Nature & Wildlife The white ravens of Qualicum Beach, Vancouver Island, Canada, are leucistic. They first appeared in the “White Raven Capital of the World” about 10 years ago. ©Mike Yip, Vancouver Island Birds A framed photo that hung on a wall of my grandfather’s large dining room is one of my earliest memories. Sepia-toned, it depicted a herd of deer, taken in Wisconsin’s Northwoods, near Boulder Junction. A few of the deer in that image looked different from the others; they appeared to be all white. My grandfather was an avid outdoorsman: he was a hunter; an excellent perch and trout fisherman; a dog breeder of German shorthaired pointers, Weimaraners and vizslas; and a freelance writer for American Field Magazine and Field & Stream, among many other outdoor and sporting publications. That photo of Wisconsin’s famed albino deer herd was presented to him by a man who was the head of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources at the time. So, when I recently saw a few photos of rare white ravens on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada, it reminded me of my grandfather’s photo and set me off on a search about what it means for animals to be white in the wild. Pixabay Albino alligators have a disadvantage in the wild; most survive less than 24 hours. Three ways to be white Much like my fascination with that image of the white deer, humans have held a special place in their hearts for white animals since ancient times. In fact, in many cultures’ mythologies, they are even elevated to a sacred status. Animals can take three paths to whiteness: albinism, leucism and isabellinism. True albinos are unable to produce any kind of pigment. Their feathers, fur or scales are white; and they have pink eyes, since the blood vessels normally masked by eye color show through. Albinism is a recessive trait, which means that both parents must pass the mutation on to their offspring. It’s difficult to accurately determine how frequently this condition occurs in the wild because albinos tend not to survive for long. They usually have poor eyesight and are conspic - @parrot.wild.life