A wildlife photographer has posted a once-in-a-lifetime shot of a “never before seen” yellow penguin.
Yves Adams, a Belgian landscape and wildlife photographer, discovered the very unusual king penguin with bright yellow plumage rather of the normal black feathers.
All while directing a two-month photographic trip in Antarctica and the South Atlantic.
The party stopped on a South Georgia island to photograph a colony of around 120,000 king penguins.
Adams was transporting some safety equipment and food into Salisbury Plain when he spotted the peculiar picture. A penguin with such vivid yellow plumage.
“I had never seen or heard of a yellow penguin. There were 120,000 birds on that beach, and this was the only one that was yellow.”
Fortunately for the cameras, the nearly tropical-looking penguin had landed nearby on the beach. As a result, they had an unimpeded view of it due to the sea of penguins and seals in the region.
“We were very fortunate that the bird landed just where we were,” recalls the photographer. “Our view wasn’t obstructed by a swarm of enormous creatures. Because of them all, it’s nearly difficult to move on this beach.”
“It was a miracle that he landed near us. We would not have been able to see this display if it had been 50 meters distant.”
The penguin’s unique yellow plumage is caused by leucism, which causes pigmentation loss. It is comparable to albinism, except that the animal retains part of its pigments.
“It’s a leucistic penguin,” Adams explains. “Because its cells no longer produce melanin, its black feathers have turned this yellow and milky tint.”
Scientists discovered that the yellow pigment present in penguin feathers is chemically unique from all other compounds known to color feathers.
“Penguins employ the yellow pigment to attract mates, and we strongly assume that the yellow chemical is created inside,” says Smithsonian Insider researcher Daniel Thomas.
“[It’s] unique from any of the five recognized classes of bird plumage pigmentation and indicates a novel sixth class of feather pigment. The chemical, as far as we know, is unlike any of the yellow pigments present in a penguin’s diet.”
In this example, it’s unclear if the penguin’s yellow hue is appealing or repellent to the opposing sex.
