A white mallard was found in the park last month at Soraksan National Park. A white squirrel was found in Seolak Mountain last September, and a white badger was captured in Jirisan in 2015. The Mt. Seorak National Park office explained that the manta discovered this time is called "albinism" in what we call asthma.

Albinism is often called 'albino'. Why does the Albino appear? And are all white albino albino animals? Today, SBS 'Life' will tell you the secrets hidden in white animals.
■ The hair is white and the eyes are red "Albino" ... Why do these symptoms appear?

Albinism, called albinism, is a congenital hereditary disorder that occurs with a probability of one in 100,000. The melanin synthesis process, which determines skin color, is a symptom of an abnormality that can occur not only in animals but also in humans.

Albino has no or very little melanin pigment in skin, hair, and eyes. This causes the skin or hair to look white and the eyes to turn red. This is because the iris, which represents the color of the pupil, is lacking in pigment and the blood vessels are intact.
From time immemorial, white animals have been regarded as a good sign. However, animals born to white, such as albino, are generally disadvantageous to survival. Because there is no protected color, it is easily exposed to the enemy and there are many restrictions on hunting activity. There are exceptions. The mare found in Mt. Seorak recently is the exception.

The falcons are small, 50 to 60 cm in length, but they are ferocious beasts. It lives in a group of 2 ~ 6 animals and hunts elk and wild boar, so it is the top predator in Korea. Experts explain that the white albino farts, which have roamed other moorlands and Mt. Sorak, are not too difficult to survive.
■ "Whiplash is not whiplash" ... What is the difference between 'Albino' and 'Lucism'?

It is not all Albino because skin and hair are white. In September last year, a pair of white giraffes was first captured in Kenya. Two white giraffes were known as mother and cubs. A white giraffe was discovered in Tanzania and Kenya in 2016, but it was the first time a pair was found at the same time.

But experts say the giraffe hat is not "albino" but "leucism". Unlike albino, which is genetically deficient in melanin pigment, lucidum is a problem in the process of differentiating the cells of skin, hair, scales into pigment cells.

If all pigment cells do not develop, the entire body becomes white, but if the number of pigment cells is insufficient, only a part of the body becomes white or the original color becomes faint. This is why the young giraffe found last year had a hazy net pattern.
Another difference is in the eye. Albino is often red because of lack of pigment to iris, but lucidum is most common in eyes with normal color. This is because the differentiation of pigment cells such as skin and hair and the body organs in which the melanocytes of the pupils are produced are different.

(Cover: Cho Jae-keun / Planning / Composition: Song Wook, Chang Aram / Design: Chung Ho Chung)