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From albino squirrels to rheas, here are the oddest animals spotted in Kent

A rare albino squirrel has been spotted among the trees outside Rodmersham Pre-school.

Laura Hayre noticed the white furry creature in the car park area after she dropped her four-year-old daughter, Lois, off.

Roughly one-in-100,000 squirrels are born albinism, meaning about 25 of Britain’s 2.5 million squirrels are white.

An albino squirrel was spotted at Wildwood. Picture: Dave Butcher
An albino squirrel was spotted at Wildwood. Picture: Dave Butcher

As well as the white hair and skin, they have red eyes and can suffer from vision problems.

Despite their rarity there have been a few sightings in Kent over the years.

Last June, Sam Chalmers saw one scampering up and down her trees at her home in Winter Drive, Hawkinge.

In Meopham, near Gravesend, an albino squirrel helped itself to food from a bird table in Nigel Parris’s garden in 2012.

One is also said to be a regular visitor to the Wildwood animal park near Herne Bay.

But albino squirrels are far from the only rare animals spotted in Kent.

Albino fox

This bright white fox wassnapped in the grounds of the farm where the Darling Buds of May was filmed.

Caught on camera by Buss Farm, Bethersden, owner Roger Holmes, the sly creature is seen lounging on the grass.

Whether it is a true albino fox or not is up for debate as some animals simply have very light fur.

The hob ferret was first spotted in a garden in Church Path in Deal nearly two weeks ago
The hob ferret was first spotted in a garden in Church Path in Deal nearly two weeks ago

Hob ferret

A strange-looking animal which sparked huge debate as to its identity was spotted around Walmer earlier this year.

After speculation over whether it could have been an otter, polecat, mink, weasel or stoat, experts have now confirmed it is a hob ferret.

The black creature, which was spotted stealing fish from a pond in a Deal garden on Friday, has now been seen at Marke Wood Park in Walmer.

Crabzilla was spotted lurking beneath the water off Whitstable
Crabzilla was spotted lurking beneath the water off Whitstable

Crabzilla

The 50ft crustacean - which may or not be real - appeared in an aerial photo of Whitstable Harbour last year.

The crab, which would have boasted a shell some 50ft long, caught the attention of the world's media after appearing on KentOnline, but the first photo of the monster appeared at artist Quinton Winter's exhibition at the Horsebridge Centre.

Aerial images of the shadowy figure emerged on the artist’s bizarre blog Weird Whitstable – which documents supernatural sightings across the town.

Albino spider

Not to be outdone by the albino squirrels reported across Kent, now it seems spiders are getting in on the act.

An all-white species was spotted in a garden in Barming, Maidstone.

The lone stranger was snapped making its way across the lawn - leaving the owners in Thyme Walk baffled as to its identity.

Dholes

There was a sad ending to this story in 2008 when a number of Asian wild dogs - or Dholes - escaped from their enclosure at Howletts.

The animals were spotted at several points in the countryside around Canterbury, but attempts to capture them safely failed, and seven had to be shot, while another was hit by a train.

Eight of the pack which escaped from their enclosure at the wild animal park on Wednesday have died.

Four were tranquilised, and twelve were contained, and taken back to their enclosure.

Rhea

A large black flightless bird was on the loose in a quiet country lane in Iwade last month.

The animal, which stands approximately 4ft tall, was spotted taking a leisurely stroll along Raspberry Hill Lane.

It was recaptured with no lasting damage either to it or anything else.

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