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Sticking out of the crowd like a sore thumb, this rare King penguin is causing quite a stir!
Described by experts as ‘one in a zillion’, the penguin is thought to suffer from melanism, a mutation that turned it black
The photograph was taken by Andrew Evans, one of those who spotted the penguin among several thousand of its normal-coloured counterparts.
The rare bird was was seen at Fortuna Bay on the island of South Georgia by travellers who had gone ashore to see local wildlife during an expedition.
Expert Dr Allan Baker from the University of Toronto said the Antarctic penguin had turned black because he suffers from melanism which means the animal has lost control of its pigmentation patterns.
Black penguins are so rare there is practically no research on the subject.
The bird has been described as having a ‘one in a zillion mutation’ by ornithologist Dr Baker. He added: ‘That is astonishing. I’ve never ever seen that before… Presumably it’s some kind of mutation.’
Biologists believe only one in 250,000 penguins shows evidence of melanism.
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Sourced by EVOLVE! Campaigns – http://www.evolvecampaigns.org.uk
From:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk
http://www.thesun.co.uk
