A snow-white fur seal baby was born in the Hagenbeck Zoo in Hamburg. The albino boy would have little chance of survival in the wild.
Small sensation in the hamburger Hagenbeck Zoo. A few days ago a snow-white baby seal was born there. According to her own research, the animal is the only albino fur seal born in a zoo worldwide, as a zoo spokeswoman said on Monday at the German Press Agency in Hamburg said.
The birth of the fur seal girl was without any problems in mid-June and even happened before the eyes of the visitors. The still nameless baby is doing very well.
Together with his mother Lucy, she spends the first few weeks in a separate area of the Arctic Ocean. The albino female can be observed temporarily through a viewing window. The conspicuous cub was father of Gringo, the seal male, who had died of old age in 2019. The gestation period for fur seals is about one year.
Albinism is a gene mutation that is very rare. It is accompanied by white skin and red eyes. It is a disorder in the formation of dyes that color the skin, hair, feathers and eyes.
In the wild, the albino boy would have little chance of survival because it will be seen more quickly by enemies because of its striking coat color. And without camouflage, it can’t hunt for prey. “A problem that the albino girl in the zoo is spared,” as the zoo writes.
Fur seals are on the red list
South American fur seals are reported to be on the Red List of Endangered Species of the World Conservation Union. Outdoor, in front of the Coastal from Uruguay, Peru, Chile and Argentina, about 400,000 of them are said to still live.
19 zoos and Zoos keep fur seals according to the Zoological Information Management System. Tierpark Hagenbeck is home to Europe’s largest group with its seven animals (one male and six females).
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