Pink baby elephant poses for cameras
A wildlife photographer in Botswana has snapped a picture of what could be Africa’s only living pink elephant.
The albino calve – not to be confused with last month’s pink dolphin – was spotted by Mike Holding as he was filming a herd of around 80 elephants crossing a river in the Okavango Delta for a BBC documentary.
Photos on the BBC website showed the pinkish-brown calve, estimated to be two or three months old, sheltering under its mother, apparently seeking shade from the fierce sun.
“We only saw it for a couple of minutes as the herd crossed the river,” said Holding. “This was a really exciting moment for everyone in camp. We knew it was a rare sighting – no-one could believe their eyes.”
Mike Chase of the conservation group Elephants Without Borders said the sighting was the first documented case of an albino elephant in northern Botswana. Similar cases have been reported in the past in South Africa, Chase said, but he said it was a “mystery” what happened to albino calves.
“Surviving this very rare phenomenon is very difficult in the harsh African bush. The glaring sun may cause blindness and skin problems,” said Chase.
But Chase said the fact that the calve had already learnt to seek shelter would aid its prospects of survival.
“He can seek refuge under the large trees and cake himself in a thick mud, which will protect him from the sun,” he said. “I have learned that elephants are highly adaptable, intelligent and masters of survival.”