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Rare albino squirrel spotted in Walderslade, Kent

By: Megan Carr mcarr@thekmgroup.co.uk

Published: 11:35, 24 June 2021

Updated: 14:11, 24 June 2021

An ultra-rare albino squirrel has been spotted in a suburban back garden.

The white furred rodent was captured on camera by a feeding table at The Beeches in Walderslade.

A rare albino squirrel has been spotted in a suburban back garden

There are only around 50 albino squirrels living in the UK and they are so rare that the chances of spotting one is just one in 100,000.

Jane Smith, 49, captured the unusual find on her Canon Powershot camera.

Her 47-year-old husband, Andy, said: "We usually get a lot of squirrels in our garden and have a feeding bench up in one of our trees.

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"Last week we saw a small baby white squirrel but we were unable to get a photo, luckily enough it came back on Tuesday and my wife managed to get a quick photo on a decent camera.

"It's amazing that there actually sat on the little table we made too."

The white furred rodent was captured on camera on a feeding table
The condition affects around one in a million grey squirrels

The condition affects around one in a million grey squirrels, and is caused by an absence of melanin, which affects the colour of their fur and eyes.

The gene is not dominant, meaning an albino squirrel can have grey siblings, however, their white fur makes them more vulnerable to attack from predators as they have no natural camouflage.

Andy added: "I think the white squirrel, who we have nicknamed Albert, lives a few houses up.

"We think he may be blind as he often follows around his mother when they are on the grass.

"Jane and I have reported our sighting to the Kent and Sussex White Squirrel society but haven't heard back from them yet."

Jane and Andy have nicknamed the squirrel Albert
Jane Smith, 49, captured the unusual find on her Canon Powershot camera

Andy is usually a bird watcher in his spare time but the couple are blown away with the rare squirrel sighting that happened right on their door step.

Read more!

Escaped animals, unusual finds and news from the RSPCA can all be found here.

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To read more about Kent’s furry, flying and finned friends, click here.

Read more: All the latest news from Medway

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