A safari guide was able to spot a ‘pink’ elephant in the Kruger National Park. The calf was sitting at a watering hole with the rest of his herd.
Theo Potgieter, a tour operator who works mainly in South Africa’s Kruger National Park, noticed the striking elephant calf a few weeks ago. The little elephant was playing with some other elephants while the adult elephants kept watch around the watering hole.
“I noticed some different colors in the young elephants,” Potgieter told Storyful news agency. “I decided to grab my camera to get a better idea of what we were looking at. What a surprise to come out of the bright sunlight and see this special little boy.”
“The whole group seemed very relaxed and tolerated all the young elephants. What was interesting to see was that this young male interacted with several calves his size and showed no sign of rejection,” Potgieter said.
The striking color of the elephant is probably caused by albinism. People, animals and plants with albinism may or may not partially lack the pigment melanin. As a result, they often have striking light skin and sometimes red eyes.
A number of such pink elephants have been spotted in the South African Kruger Park over the years. Yet it is extremely rare. The lives of the animals are therefore extremely difficult. Their skin often cannot withstand the scorching sun and they usually lose their only form of camouflage. Often albino animals are also excluded from their herd. The condition is also associated with poor eyesight, which can make it difficult for the animals to search for food. As a result, their average lifespan is often not very long.