Ultra-rare white cougar captured on camera

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Photographs recently resurfaced of a ghostly young male striding through Serra dos Órgãos National Park in southeastern Brazil’s Atlantic Forest. Taken in 2013, the photographs were the first confirmed case of a wild cougar with leucism, a genetic mutation that turns most of its body white.

“That shows you how extremely unusual it is,” says Luke Hunter, executive director of the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Big Cats Program and author of the book Wild Cats of the World. “It’s a striking set of photos.”

Genetic color aberrations, such as albinism and leucism, are relatively common among wild cats, but for unknown reasons, they’re almost unheard of in cougars, a successful predator whose habitat stretches from Canada to Chile, the biggest north-south range of any wild cat. “Another white cougar may not appear in my lifetime,” he says.

Hunter says no one knows why color-changing genes are so rare in the species.

“My best guess is that the distant ancestor of pumas was uniformly colored, and that has been maintained in the species ever since,” he says.

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2020/12/extrremely-rare-white-cougar-highlights-quirk-of-species/

[ChicaSkas 24,036]

Freaking beautiful. I follow Messi's adventures on Instagram, and that puma is incredible too, but regular coloring. Dwarf puma. 

[TimisaMonster 31,073]

Nature said "I'm in the Christmas spirit too" 

[RRR 3,996]

I've seen PLENTY of white cougars

[vyniildisk 12,689]

how gorgeous she is!

[uo111 5,282]

Came in here expecting a photo of Madonna or Cher or the like.

[56jae 176]

it looks like a cat lmao

[socotra 3,357]

29 minutes ago, 56jae said:

it looks like a cat lmao

it technically is haha a "big cat"

[Not The Real Gaga 7,582]

Not me thinking this would be a joke post about Madonna