Extract from ABC News
A solo jaunt around Tasmania's west coast and surrounds has led to the sighting of a rare white echidna by a Hobart resident.
Zach Blayden has lived in Tasmania for two years, and over that time has ticked seeing a number of "bucket list" animals off his list.
But, it was a recent trip around the west coast that led to his most exciting sighting yet — a white echidna.
"My dog and I … were travelling to Waratah to do a bit of a (west) coast adventure, and we were driving down a road near Cradle Mountain," he said.
Passing through Middlesex, something near the road caught his eye.
"We pulled over and another car pulled over shortly after us, and we ran up to this animal … and it was an echidna," he said.
Only rather than its usual brown, it had entirely white fur and spikes.
"I think seeing any kind of albino animal is pretty interesting," Mr Blayden said.
"So seeing an echidna there, especially with little blond spikes, is definitely a rarity. I've been telling friends and family, and everybody's been pretty shocked."
Mr Blayden said he wasn't the only one excited about the discovery — with the members of the car that pulled in just behind him equally as quick to whip out their phones to document the experience.
"He's paid by Tourism Tasmania," one can be heard joking in the background of a video taken by Mr Blayden.
"What a special moment," another said.
"We got some great photos, and got to witness a super rare, beautiful animal," Mr Blayden said.
"He stuck around for probably 20 minutes or so."
Albino animals a rarity, experts say
Over his time with Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary in Southern Tasmania, Greg Irons has seen his fair share of animals — but he said sightings of albino echidnas were "few and far between".
"I think I've probably seen maybe four my entire life, but each time you see an albino anything, it's such an amazing, unique sight," he said.
"I mean, they're just a different colour, but there's something about being a bright white that makes them just so beautiful."
He said, because of this, it was hard to know just how many were out there.
"For most albino animals, being bright white isn't a great trait to have … it makes you very visible to predators.
"So there's always been that thought that depending on where an animal lives, the albinism gene is more likely not to be carried on due to predation.
"But when it comes to an animal like an echidna, with a bit of luck, it'll just keep cruising along and going about its business."
Albinism, or leucism?
Michael Driessen, a zoologist with the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, agreed that the likelihood of spotting a white echidna, like the one seen by Mr Blayden, was "pretty rare".
Dr Driessen said the odds of an echidna being born albino fell "somewhere in the vicinity of a one-in-a-million chance".
However, he said without being able to see the eyes of the echidna in the videos more closely, he couldn't be certain that this one definitely was albino — with opinions varied among the experts contacted by the ABC.
Alternatively, he said what was more likely was the animal having a rare genetic condition called leucism, which causes the partial loss of pigmentation.
"Most people generally refer to white looking animals as being albino, but that's not always the case," he said.
"To put it simply, if it doesn't have pink eyes, then it's not an albino, and it's more likely to be a result of leucism.
"It may result in an overall white looking animal with dark coloured eyes, or it could even be patchy in colour, and so retain some colour in some parts of the body, whereas albinism is really the result of the loss of production of melanin."
However, Dr Driessen said while albino echidnas might be the most rare, there was no doubt this was an incredible animal to stumble upon.
"It's clearly a white animal, and it's clearly a rare feature in nature."
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