Pink-Hippo Pictures: Rare Youngster Spotted in Kenya

Sunburn-Prone Hippo

Photograph by Will and Matt Burrard-Lucas, Barcroft/Fame Pictures

The pink hippo is not considered albino, because its mottled skin still has some pigment (pictured, the hippo in September), the Bronx Zoo's Charlton said by email.

Though most leucistic animals are otherwise normal, they tend to be at an evolutionary disadvantage, Charlton noted.

"In many species this [disadvantage] is due to a lack of camouflage, but in the hippo's case, the lack of pigmentation can be problematic when it comes to protection from the sun," he said.

Sunburn or no sunburn, the photographers wrote, "we hope that it goes on to live a full and happy hippo life, and that visitors to the Masai Mara can continue to marvel at its fetching pink rump for many years to come!"

(Related: "Hippo and Tortoise Pals May Find Three's a Crowd.")

Published September 29, 2010

Pink Moon

Photograph by Will and Matt Burrard-Lucas, Barcroft/Fame Pictures

The pale hippo was "very shy," sticking close to its mother and staying ashore for only a few minutes before returning to the river, the brothers reported.

The Burrard-Lucases used a long, 600-millimeter lens to snap pictures of the unusual creature from a distance. On their return to the United Kingdom, the photographers say, they researched leucistic hippos and discovered there have only been a few recorded instances, mainly in Uganda.

(See photo: "Pygmy Hippo Caught on Camera.")

Published September 29, 2010

Pink Hippo Not Alone

Photograph by Will and Matt Burrard-Lucas, Barcroft/Fame Pictures

Leucism occurs in many species, from snakes to elephants to hippos (pictured, the pink hippo in September), the Bronx Zoo's Charlton noted.

(See a picture of a leucistic golden eagle.)

Published September 29, 2010

Pale in Comparison

Photograph by Will and Matt Burrard-Lucas, Barcroft/Fame Pictures

After the photographers had snapped the pictures of the pink hippo (pictured), their guide told them he'd heard rumors of the pale creature but that he'd never seen it himself.

"We were obviously very fortunate to have stumbled upon it by chance," they wrote.

(See a picture of pygmy albino monkey babies.)

Published September 29, 2010