Finding pink elephants in Africa

A cinematographer captures the image of a fancy pink elephant in Botswana, Africa.

Pink elephants live with a herd of elephants about 80 children.Photo: Mike Holding.

Mike Holding and his colleagues saw the pink elephant in a herd of about 80 elephants during filming for the BBC program in Botswana's Okavango delta. The film crew said that 2-3 month old animals have albino disease. 'We only saw it for a few minutes when the elephants crossed the river. No one believes in his eyes. Everyone understands that it is a rare moment ', Holding said.

Elephants with albinism often do not have white skin. Instead their skin turns reddish or light pink. Albino disease is quite common in Asian elephants, but people rarely see albino elephants in Africa.

Dr Mike Chase, an ecologist who runs Elephants Without Borders, said: 'I have only met three albino elephants in Kruger National Park in South Africa. We have studied elephants in northern Botswana for nearly 10 years and this is the first time there has been evidence of the appearance of albino elephants in this area. '

According to Chase, the cause of albino elephant is still a mystery. He was not sure if the animal would live long, because the intense sunlight in Africa could cause blindness and skin diseases.

'It seems that the albino elephant always goes close to the mother elephant to take advantage of the shade her mother created. That behavior shows that the elephant is aware of its condition and knows how to increase its chances of survival. Elephants are very smart and masters in the art of adapting to the habitat in the animal world, ' Dr. Chase said.