Earlier this fall, the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation’s Sea Turtle Team found a white loggerhead sea turtle hatchling while inventorying a hatched nest.
“They are rare on Sanibel and we only find a few every year,” Research Associate Andrew Glinsky said. “This hatchling appears to be albino but actually has a condition known as leucism.”
Albinism occurs when there is an absence of melanin. It makes the animal appear white or pale-yellow and the eyes will be pink in color. Leucism is similar, but the individual still has some pigmentation and its eyes are often normal in coloration.
The SCCF added that the hatchling was not quite ready to be released at the time and would be monitored while it absorbed its remaining yolk.
