A fascinating first glimpse was caught of a “white” baby baboon around the Mfuwe Lodge grounds in Zambia about six weeks ago. With his unusual pale coloring he was very noticeable and really stood out amongst the rest of his family. His mother, and other related females, were very protective of him, perhaps more so than with the normally-colored babies.

Since that first glimpse he has been seen on a few more occasions as he has grown. He seems to be allowed to wander farther away and has been seen making friends with other young baboons of the same age. The white baby baboon really has a lot of character and is very amusing to watch, if one can get close enough without his mother grabbing him and running off!

The baby baboon is not considered to be an albino but rather he exhibits a condition known as 'leucism'. This is a rare situation where the pigmentation cells in an animal or bird fail to develop properly. This can result in unusual white patches, or even completely white animals. But they usually darken with age.

It has been suggested that the Luangwa Valley might even be a hot spot for “leucism", although there is no scientific basis for this thinking. It has even been suggested that the valley’s yellow baboons may have some kind of genetic link with a smaller race of baboons called “kinda” which inhabit areas further west in Zambia. Almost all kinda baboon babies are born white but the link has never been established.
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