ALBINO GORILLA FLASH SKIN

Was Noah an albino? A curious description of him appears in ancient Jewish writings: “His hair was white as snow, and his eyes like the rays of the sun.” Some scholars speculate that Noah might have been affected by albinism. Perhaps it is no accident that all gained fame through auditory media.įurther back in history, albinism is harder to detect, if we discount fictional characters such as Michael Morpurgo’s albino Maid Marion in his innovative children’s book, Robin of Sherwood, and the timid children Dorothy and Denis inE Nesbit’s 19th-century Bastable stories. Think of musicians wearing sunglasses: famous albinos include blues guitarists Johnny and Edgar Winter, who are brothers Salif Keita, the African musician and the Rev Archibald Spooner, famous in the 19th century for his comic inversions of words (“spoonerisms”). It is when light shines across them that they assume a pink tinge (like red-eye in flash photography). Despite being described as having red or pink eyes, albino people usually have blue or green eyes filled with light but more than commonly translucent. Not rare enough to be freakish, maybe, but uncommon enough to garner stares.įrom the inside, pigmentation is less of a problem for albinos than faulty vision, which may range from bad short-sightedness to near-blindness. The combination of recessive genes that creates albinism is rare: its incidence among all races of human beings is put at one in 17,000. Yet even crossing two albinos is not guaranteed to produce albino offspring. White mice, rats and rabbits are highly prized among pet-fanciers and breeders. Genetically, albinos are not a good bet.įor domesticated animals, the situation is different. Such vulnerability means that albinism tends to be bred out of the genes in the wild.

Sometimes being taken into captivity or made a pet offers their best chance of survival. He will not be attractive as a sexual partner and may even be ostracised by his birth family. Albinism puts an animal at a great disadvantage.

ALBINO GORILLA FLASH SKIN

He is an albino, lacking pigmentation in skin and hair, with weak eyes, and with skin that can be easily damaged by the sun. Despite his magnificent build, it is unlikely that he will reproduce. In Barcelona zoo, this gorilla stands alone.

Skin pigmentation is one aspect of appearance which has been used throughout history to categorise, exalt or degrade. Like most animals, human beings tend to be reluctant to stand out too far.

Albino gorilla flash