by Rᴀʀᴇ White Kangaroo Born At Australian Wildlife Sanctuary
If there is one thing we recognize about the animal kingdom, it’s the fact that there is plenty of diversity. Even though we may be looking at one particular species, not every animal within that species is going to look the same. That fact is clearly seen in the case of Marloo, a rather interesting kangaroo. He is an ᴀʟʙɪɴᴏ Eastern Gray Kangaroo and he ᴍᴀᴛᴇᴅ with Cindy, who is also an Eastern Gray but not ᴀʟʙɪɴᴏ
ᴀʟʙɪɴᴏ Kangaroos are usually an extremely Rᴀʀᴇ sight. Almost one in 100,000 kangaroos are born with this Rᴀʀᴇ skin condition. The owner of the kangaroos, Annemaree Van Rooy was the first one to spot the white kangaroo’s head hanging out of the mothers pouch. With such odds against them, it’s also interesting that it’s not the first ᴀʟʙɪɴᴏ kangaroo that has come into their possession. The first ᴀʟʙɪɴᴏ kangaroo was born a number of years ago and now there are nine of them living on the estate! Albinism can make life difficult for a kangaroo in the wild. They rely on their coloring to hide from ᴘʀᴇᴅᴀᴛᴏʀs. It seems as if they are already at a disadvantage because of their ᴘᴏᴏʀ eyesight so the combination of issues makes them an easy target.
“The joey hasn’t been named yet as it only popped its head out a couple of weeks ago,” said Van Rooy to UNILAD. “She’ll be popping out hopefully in the next month for short periods of time.”While ᴀʟʙɪɴᴏ Kangaroos are a rarity, there are an abundance of them at the wildlife sanctuary. According to Van Rooy, “We have a mob of white kangaroos and ᴀʟʙɪɴᴏ kangaroos that live here on the sanctuary.” According to reports, there was an estiᴍᴀᴛᴇᴅ 50 million kangaroos in Australia before the ʙᴜsʜꜰɪʀᴇ season in 2019. Based on those numbers, there may only be close to 500 white kangaroos out in the wild. Van Rooy owns the Panorama Garden Estate with her husband. Surprisingly, the estate holds a number of ᴀʟʙɪɴᴏ Kangaroos at the moment.
“There are about nine in the mob now, a combination of white and ᴀʟʙɪɴᴏ,” Van Rooy also added. “They are quite Rᴀʀᴇ and very distinctive.”Thankfully, the owners say that the kangaroos will live as they would in the wild in their sanctuary. Finally, let’s hope the white kangaroo remains healthy!
