The Curious Cases Of Leucism, Albinism & Melanism

At first glance, it looks like a creature out of a fantasy tale. A tiger shimmering white, like snow under the moonlight, its striking body wearing vivid bands of black. Or perhaps a large feline as black as the night, even in daylight, as though it swallowed shadows whole. But what if we told you that these animals are not mythical? They are very real and can even be found in a lot of protected forests around India. In their very skin lies the key to some of nature’s most intriguing genetic mysteries.

The wild has always shown its fair share of surprises. But there’s something undeniably spellbinding about seeing an animal with an unexpected coat, not because it’s rare, but because it feels almost otherworldly. The forest occasionally reveals such dramatic deviations from the norm that make even seasoned wildlife photographers gasp. These colour changes aren’t magic. They’re science. And at the centre of it all lies a single word: melanin.

Melanin is the natural pigment found in most organisms. It’s responsible for the colours in our skin, hair, eyes and in the case of animals, their fur, feathers, and scales. When the production or distribution of melanin shifts, the change can be visibly dramatic. And that’s when things get interesting. We often use words like “albino”, “leucistic”, or “melanistic” to describe such animals, but these are not interchangeable terms. They represent entirely different genetic quirks, with each revealing a fascinating story.

Leucism is perhaps most misunderstood as being the same as albinism. A leucistic animal has reduced melanin pigmentation, but an albino has a total lack of it. That’s why the former’s eyes remain their usual colour, and they might even have patterns that are faint on their coats, unlike albinos. Imagine a peacock not flaunting its usual riot of colour, but being stark white with a pearly shimmer — yet its eyes remain black. That’s leucism. A leucistic Indian grey mongoose was sighted in Ranthambore National Park. There have been reports of the leucistic Malabar giant squirrel from Mahabaleshwar. Tamil Nadu’s Nilgiris was where a leucistic Indian gaur was seen, while a leucistic five-striped palm squirrel in eastern Uttar Pradesh’s Ghazipur district was recorded having the rare genetic condition. The first photographic evidence of a leucistic sloth bear from Panna Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, was obtained during a camera trapping survey conducted during 2019–2021. Sightings of leucistic animals in Indian forests may not be frequent, but are nothing less than astonishing for those who have spotted any.

Albinism, as mentioned before, results from a complete absence of melanin. Animals with albinism are pure white, with pink or red eyes. The underlying blood vessels show through due to the lack of pigment. They are more sensitive to sunlight, often have vision problems, and are more vulnerable in the wild due to their stark visibility. True albino animals are extremely uncommon to find in Indian forests; however, in records of occasional findings is the albino cobra that slithered into a house in Tamil Nadu during an intense rainstorm. In Telangana, wildlife photographers spotted an unusually pale, red-eyed turtle hatchling, which was identified as a flapshell turtle with albinism. A rare albino spotted deer was also sighted in Pench National Park in Madhya Pradesh.

And then there’s melanism. A phenomenon that has captured the imagination like no other. While albinism occurs when there is little or no melanin, melanism is when there is an excess of melanin. The ‘black panther’ isn’t a separate species, but a melanistic leopard. Its coat is so densely packed with melanin that its rosettes (read spots) are almost invisible unless the light hits them just right. Melanism gives the animal a surreal beauty and an eerie advantage in the shadows. In the dense jungles of Kabini, Karnataka, a melanistic leopard, known as “Saya” by local guides, has become an iconic figure. Sightings have increased in the past decade, and the same individual has been photographed repeatedly. Wildlife photographers plan entire trips in hopes of getting a glimpse, and when he does appear, gliding through the undergrowth like a shadow come to life, one is sure to miss a heartbeat. A first known case of melanism in the tufted grey langur has surfaced from Tamil Nadu. And recent reports suggest the presence of 13 melanistic Bengal tigers belonging to both sexes in Odisha’s Similipal Tiger Reserve.

Melanistic golden jackals, pale spotted deer, darkened jungle cats — reports of these colour morphs have trickled in from all over the country. In Karnataka, a leucistic sambar deer was spotted in the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary. In the same state’s Daroji Bear Sanctuary, whispers of an albino mongoose circulate among trackers and researchers.

While these appearances stir awe, they also raise questions. Why do these variations occur? Are they harmful or helpful? In some cases, like melanism in leopards, there might be a selective advantage to better camouflage in dense, humid forests. In others, like albinism, the trait might make the animal stand out, making its survival harder. Unusual pigmentation takes place when a mutated gene that exists in both parents is inherited by the individual. In case of albinism, this gene interrupts the body’s ability to produce melanin. Leucism, which is usually a partial or patchy change in colouration, can occur after skipping a few generations because of the genes being recessive in nature, which means that while both parents of the animal had the mutated gene, the dominant normal gene prevented it from being passed on.

If one may ask how common such sightings are, the answer would be that they’re certainly uncommon, which is why seeing the uncommon certainly sparks excitement. And it is only when a curious lens captures the odd image that stunning secrets are revealed to the world. But there’s a bittersweet note to such a story. While we celebrate these atypical beauties, their very rarity makes them vulnerable, not just to predators or nature, but to humans as well. Unusual-looking animals are often targeted by poachers, or worse, captured and kept in captivity. There’s also the ever-looming and ever-persistent risk of habitat loss, making survival harder for any wildlife, rare or not.

Humans have actively bred animals in captivity to increase their novelty and appeal. This selective inbreeding, especially of white tigers, often involves close relatives, amplifying the recessive gene responsible for the white coat. However, the price of such breeding is dire: many white tigers suffer from spinal deformities, cleft palates, immune deficiencies, heart defects, crossed eyes, and reduced lifespans. As per a study, over 80 % of intensively inbred white tiger cubs die shortly after birth. These practices are largely driven by profit and have no conservation benefit, raising serious ethical concerns about human-led breeding programmes.

Sometimes, nature writes her most poetic verses in extremities that exist in black or white. That’s why the palette of stories from the wild must come with a reminder: protecting habitats, curbing illegal trade, and encouraging ethical wildlife tourism are all part of the responsibility we share. Conservation organisations have been instrumental in advocating for the conservation of animals inheriting unconventional colouration. If we want future generations to be as wonderstruck as we are by a shadowy panther slipping through the trees or a pale sambar gliding through golden grass, we must also share our admiration and respect for the natural world with them too.

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Feature image: Canva