An extremely rare pink baby elephant was discovered in the Maasai Mara Nature Reserve in Kenya and thriving to survive in the wild despite having unique skin pigmentation.
The pink elephant was born in April this year and is currently in good shape and strength.
Mostafa Elbrolosy, a wildlife photographer, caught the “very rare” pink elephant on cam during a visit at the Maasai Mara Nature Reserve.
Mostafa works as a ranger at a safari camp and was told about the birth of a baby elephant.
Amazed by the fact that there was a baby elephant in the area, Mostafa went with his camera and checked out the beautiful creature for himself.
After seeing the pink elephant, Mostafa said, “It was a rare sighting.”
He added, “Rare creatures are always the most attractive for any wildlife photographer, and getting the chance to watch and photograph it was like a dream. As I live in the Maasai Mara running my cosy camp here, I got the news over the radio of a female elephant giving birth to an albino baby.”
He continued, “I finished my job, packed my camera and went looking for it with one of our guides. We got the surprise in the afternoon after quite a long time of searching – very few people had come to see it as no one expected it to be an albino [baby].”
Mostafa said he is very lucky to see and capture the rare pink elephant for himself.
But there is a problem with being pink in the wild.
When you have a bright color, you become an easy target in the wild and you get more affected by the harsh sunlight.
The poor little fella was also being taken care of and protected by its herd.
Mostafa saw how the herd was treating him and he explained how he was being treated by his family in the wild.
Mostafa explained, “He was surrounded and very well protected by the herd, trying to feed from the mum and walk with her. He was just eight hours old. We were thrilled to see such an amazing sight.”
Experts believe that the elephant was born with albinism, a rare condition that is caused by a lack of pigmentation in the skin, which results in pale dermatological layers.
You also get a different colors of eyes, which are usually weak.
It is believed that the rare pink elephant in Kenya may become blind later in its life due to the condition that he has.
Not only that, elephants or animals that have albinism are often rejected by their own family due to their unique appearance.
Luckily the rare elephant is being taken cared by its herd.