Wildlife Photographer Accidentally Runs Into Extremely Rare Yellow Penguin And Can't Believe His Luck

When we say rare, we really mean it! This penguine is one in 146,000.

Damjan

• Published in Animal Stories
• February 26, 2022

Nature is full of surprises, as we have witnessed time and time again. Nature never ceases to astound us with its beauty and originality.

This time, it's in the theme of animals that aren't the color they should be. A wildlife guide was fortunate enough to come across a one-of-a-kind yellow-colored penguin in the wild and photograph it.

Yves Adams is a Belgian wildlife photographer, photo tour guide, and expedition guide. He was on a two-month photo expedition in the South Atlantic when his group stopped near an island off the coast of South Georgia to shoot a king penguin colony with around 120,000 penguins.

Adams discovered something unusual when unloading equipment and food on the Salisbury Plain. In a sea of tuxedos, he noticed a penguin that was anything but black and white, but rather yellow-white.

"I'd never seen or heard of a yellow penguin before," Adams told the reporters. "There were 120,000 birds on that beach, and this was the only yellow one there."

This isn't the first time a yellow penguin was spotted (there are studies about leucism in penguins from early as 2000), but it seems like these pictures are the first of their kind on the internet.

Take a look at the amazing photos he took:

Did you know that penguins also come in yellow-white?

Not only were they fortunate to have come across the rare bird in the first place, but it was also close enough to be photographed in all of its yellow-coated glory—about 50 meters (150 feet) away. There were no other penguins, seals, or other natural barriers in the way.

Yves Adams, a Belgian wildlife photographer and expedition guide found such penguin in South Georgia

This yellow bird is unusual because of a disorder known as leucism, in which the animal loses some of its pigmentations, resulting in color changes—skin, hair, feathers, and scales become white, pale, or patchy. Unlike albinism, it does not damage the eyes.

Because this penguin isn't producing any melanin, its previously black feathers have turned yellow. According to a study on leucism in penguins, the chance of developing leucism varies from 1 in 20,000 to 146,000 depending on the specimen. So, in a colony of 120,000 birds, this one fits the bill.

Leucism, a condition in which an animal loses some of its pigmentation, is responsible for the bird's yellowish appearance.

Scientists believe that “It was heaven that he landed by us. If it had been 50 metres away we wouldn’t have been able to get this show of a lifetime,” said Adams occurs in 1 out of 20,000 to 146,000 penguins.

“It was heaven that he landed by us. If it had been 50 meters away we wouldn’t have been able to get this show of a lifetime,” said Adams

"I'd never seen or heard of a yellow penguin before," Adams told the reporters

The effect of this condition on survival are yet unknown

There is no information about how this condition affects the survival rate. Still, we can assume that the animal may have difficulty finding a partner and that its colors make it more (or less) conspicuous to predators.

Adams' photos captivated the internet, with multiple online news agencies covering the story and hundreds of individuals admiring the photos on various social media platforms. It has also been shared on Reddit and Imgur, where it has received over 100,000 upvotes and 60,000 views, respectively.

Damjan