A woman in North Pomfret, Vermont, named Britni Fleming spotted something incredibly unusual recently, when she crossed paths with an incredibly rare “albino porcupine.”
See the White Porcupine Walk Across a Rainy Road
In a video that was shared by Fleming on Friday, Oct. 2, and reshared many times since by others on social media, an animal can clearly be seen walking in front of her vehicle.
During the recording, “Fleming guesses the animal is an albino porcupine, but it’s likely leucistic,” Outdoors reported on Thursday, Nov. 5. “Leucism causes a partial or total loss of pigmentation in an animal’s skin, hair, feathers, or scales, and the main difference from albinism is that leucistic animals have normal-colored eyes (vs. red eyes in albinism).”
In the video, the white porcupine can be seen crossing a wet road on a rainy day. After hesitating slightly as it starts walking, then paddling on its wide paws across the road, it crawls into the grassy area on the other side. Fleming can be heard behind the camera saying, “Wow. It’s an albino porcupine, right?”
Albino porcupines are “very rare,” according to the Center for Wildlife, “with only 1 occurring in every ~10,000 births!”
When AccuWeather posted the video of the white porcupine on X.com, one person responded by writing, “It’s like a mini polar bear with a tail!”
“Looks nice and plump,” came from another social media user. “I hope she’s stored up well for winter.”
Someone else replied with a comment saying, “I did not know albino porcupines existed.”
A Baby Albino Porcupine Was Rescued in July
Although all-white porcupines aren’t something you’re likely to seen often, one was also found in Maine this past summer.
In July, the Center for Wildlife shared a Facebook post telling its followers that it had taken in a young albino porcupine that had ended up in a dangerous situation.
“This baby porcupine was discovered after some dogs were attempting to chase it. Thankfully, his rescuer was able to step in before any serious injuries occurred,” the Center for Wildlife wrote in the caption of the post, which also included a pair of photos showing the little creature. “Due to his unique coloring, his young age, and potential injury from the dog interaction, the baby porcupine’s rescuer decided it was best to bring him in for care.”
In one photo, the porcupine — which ZME Science notes “was found just north of Kittery, Maine” — can be seen hanging out on a log in a habitat that boasts both rocks and greenery, and in the other shot, it’s nibbling on carrot.
Although the Center for Wildlife team discovered a few medical issues with the albino porcupine that needed to be addressed before it was potentially returned to the wild, they wrote, “We hope to see some improvements soon and hopefully have this little guy on his way to recovery!”
Sadly, on September 1, the Center for Wildlife shared on Instagram that the albino porcupine had passed away.
Rare ‘Albino’ Porcupine Spotted in Vermont — See the Unusual Animal Walk Across a Street