Rare albino panda captured on camera for the 1st time

Pandas are already hard to come across, with fewer than 2,000 in the wild, and researchers in China were stunned when an infrared camera captured the rarest one of all.

The Wolong National Nature Reserve in Sichuan installed the camera in December in order to keep tabs on wildlife. The reserve released a photo over the weekend that was taken in April, showing an albino giant panda walking through the forest. Never before has an albino panda been captured on camera, and scientists are taking a close look at the image. They can't tell if the panda is male or female, but it does look to be about one or two years old and "physically strong, with a steady gait."

Albinism causes partial or complete loss of pigmentation in the skin, eyes, and hair, and researchers say it appears the recessive gene that causes albinism can be found in the bears near Wolong, The Guardian reports. Now, they want to study the bear and any offspring it may have, and will install more infrared cameras in hopes of seeing it again. "If we can capture the next generation, the research value will be even greater," researchers said.