Genetic mutations or certain diseases can cause animals to have unusual characteristics or colors.
The image of pale pink dolphins is relatively common in the Amazon River basin. The pink color of dolphins is due to the numerous blood vessels located unusually close to the skin. Photo: Shutterstock
Venus cat’s face has half black fur and green eyes, the other half is yellow with blue eyes. Venus’s owner did not take it for DNA testing. However, many people believe that its strange face is due to genetic changes. Photo: Venus the Amazing Chimera Cat/Facebook
Genetic mutations sometimes occur in lobsters, producing a protein in excessive amounts, giving them a brilliant blue outer shell. Photo: Flickr
The tigers are white due to the rare skin pigmentation variation of the Bengal tiger. However, a common misconception is that white tigers are albino. Unlike albino individuals, white tigers still produce melanin. Biologists call it “natural phenotypic variation”, a dominant genetic variation in the Bengal tiger population. Photo: Shutterstock
Piebaldism is a rare disease in animals that affects the ability to produce melanin pigments that give skin its color. This phenomenon causes pythons to have very strange colors due to white pigment groups mixed with normal skin color. Photo: Shutterstock
Strawberry leopards at the Madikwe conservation center, South Africa, are characterized by blond spots, due to their excess red pigment. Photo: Shutterstock
The Katydid pink grasshopper is a rare species. Their stems are not green but pink. However, this makes them stand out and easy to detect. Photo: Flickr
Pandas have mainly black and white fur. However, scientists discovered individuals with brown fur instead of black. NTDTV/YouTube
Some penguins have completely black feathers because they have melanism (the opposite of albinism). Instead of lacking skin pigmentation, these animals contain dark spots covering their entire bodies. Photo: National Geographic/YouTube
Zebras can have yellow stripes due to amelanism, similar to albinism. In mammals, the symptoms of amelanism and albinism are virtually indistinguishable. Photo: Flickr
