Rare albino kangaroos call Australian race track home
If you ever happen to be in Bathurst, Australia, you might be headed there for the “Bathurst 1000” or the “Great Race.” Back in 2009, controversy sparked when about 140 kangaroos were spotted near the tracks — with cars going as fast as 125 miles per hour, reports Phys.org.
But some have recently noticed some kangaroos that don’t exactly look like your typical marsupial — they are rare albino kangaroos. These fellows are a bit smaller than ordinary ‘roos and are a snowy white and gray according to The Telegraph.
Unfortunately, because these little guys are easy to spot, they stand out to predators and have a shorter lifespan. This March, children discovered the rare creature near Bathurst — and their father, Michael Collins, told 9news, “The kids thought someone spray-painted him.”
Daniel Ramp, a conservation biologist from the University of Technology, Sydney says it is unlike anywhere else — because the population is so small, there is a bit of inbreeding, which causes the rare albino gene to appear.