While driving home from the York Parks and Recreation Pumpkin Hunt, one local family saw something they definitely were not expecting to see, or even knew it existed.
A rare moment of nature’s magic was thankfully captured forever in a photograph.
The Kelley family, from York, Maine, was casually driving home from their nice family outing when their 10-year-old son, Logan, saw a mysterious white blob alongside a quiet road.
They pulled over and investigated the little animal out of curiosity.
Mysterious Albino Animal
The mysterious white blob didn’t quite blend with nature, so it couldn’t help but catch their eyes.
It was white as snow, hiding between the green leaves of a tree.
“This white furry creature did not blend in with its surroundings. It would be difficult to miss. We didn’t know what it was until we researched,” the father, Neil Kelley, told The Dodo.
Then, they realized the mysterious albino animal was, in fact, a porcupine.
A very rare porcupine.
Only about 1 out of every 10,000 porcupines are born with albinism, according to the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.
Porcupines are also nocturnal species, so it’s less likely to see them out and about during the day.
This, and the fact that it was an albino porcupine, makes it a very rare sighting.
“It wasn’t startled or alarmed. Very calm and poised,” said The Kelleys.
They watched the animal go methodically up and down the tree, going at one point about 25 feet off the ground.
According to the Smithsonian’s National ZOO & Conservation Biology Institute, North American Porcupines spend most of their time on the ground, but they are also good climbers, and can be seen regularly climbing trees in search of food. [1]
In the winter, they usually eat evergreen needles and the inner bark of trees, which is probably what this albino porcupine was doing when the family spotted it.
A Memorable Experience
After a short period of time, the little albino porcupine decided to climb down the tree and disappear out of view, running deeper into the woods.
“It was on the edge of a very secluded wooded area. We were surprised,” Kelley told The Dodo.
Their 10-year-old son, Logan, was mesmerized by the beautiful creature. It’s something he surely won’t forget any time soon.
The family also said that they had seen an albino deer in their backyard, but never an albino porcupine.
Although albino porcupines are extremely rare, this was not the first time someone had spotted one in York County.
A couple of months prior to this sighting, an albino porcupine was spotted in a coastal town in southern Maine, Kennebunkport.
According to News Center Maine, a Kennebunkport woman spotted an albino porcupine at the Seashore Trolley Museum, which, according to her, looked like a “throw pillow”.
She quickly took out her phone and captured this amazing video:
Nature is amazing, and you never know when you’ll see something beautiful that you’ll remember forever.
References:
- Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute. (2022, May 27). North American porcupine. Smithsonian’s National Zoo. https://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/north-american-porcupine