Is an Albino animal at more risk in the wild?
Most animals have adaptive coloring to help them blend into their surroundings and camouflage themselves. Albino animals really stand out in most environments, other than perhaps a white bunny in the snow. Also, albinos have poor eyesight which can effect their survival efforts to do things such as find food or traverse dangerous areas. Some scientists argue though, that not all albinos are in danger from their lack of color as some predators do not recognize the animal as a recognized prey. The link below is a great reference. Sources: http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&ct=res&cd=3&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffiles.dnr.state.mn.us%2Fpublications%2Fvolunteer%2Fyoung_naturalists%2Falbino_animals%2Falbino_animals.
An animal’s coloring does several things for it. One, it helps the creature hide, either from its predators or from its prey. An albino animal is a sitting duck, as it were. The animal’s pigments also help it deal with sunlight. I suppose an albino kiwi may not care so much, but some albinos don’t see very well because of the lack of pigments in the retina. And as in humans, the melanin helps protect animals from sunburn, and the lack of it can leave the creature in a sorry state. Some animals are adapted to be white, often as a camouflage in snowy places, but even they produce melanin in exposed parts of their bodies and in their eyes. So yes, albinos are at a substantial disadvantage compared to their kin. In deep caves, where the pigments are unnecessary, the albinos have an advantage (since they don’t need to spend energy producing the pigments) but few species can survive in those ultra-low-energy conditions.
An albino animal lacks the natural camoflage that the normal-hued animal possesses, and thus is more easily seen, and thus becomes a target. Even in snow, an albino deer (I’ve seen several in our area, both in the wild and in captivity) would be a big white bulky thing moving above the snowline. Note that albinoism is different from the critters that actually change coat colors to match conditions! Arctic hares and foxes change colors to match the habitat.
