→ 
May 17, 2007
May
17
May
17
May
17
This ghostly figure in the undergrowth is actually a rare albino hedgehog.
The tiny animal is being cared for by Melanie James at the Bank Mill Nursery and Nature Reserve in Cumbria.
Ms James, 31, said she was completely taken aback when her two African pygmy hedgehogs produced an albino baby.
“I was totally surprised when he was born. Only one in ten thousand hedgehogs are born totally white with red eyes,” she said.
The little creature, could never be released because he would have no camouflage in the wild.
A nocturnal animal, he is just over 11 weeks old and eats a diet of meal worms and cat biscuits.
From Wikipedia: Albinism (from Latin albus; extended etymology), more technically hypomelanism or hypomelanosis, is a form of hypopigmentary congenital disorder, characterized by a lack of melanin pigment in the eyes, skin and hair (or more rarely the eyes alone). Albinism results from inheritance of recessive genes. The condition is known to affect mammals, fish, birds, reptiles, and amphibians. While the most common term for an organism affected by albinism is “albino” (noun and adjective), the word is sometimes used in a derogatory way towards people; more neutral terms are “albinistic” (adjective) and “person with albinism” (noun). Additional clinical adjectives sometimes used to refer to animals are “albinoid” and “albinic“.
May
7
© Jamie Squire / Getty Images
© Timothy A. Clary / AFP
© John Flavell / AP
© Daniel Acker / Bloomberg News
© Daniel Acker / Bloomberg News
© Jamie Squire / Getty Images
© Ed Reinke / AP
© Mike Fisher / AP
© Andy Lyons / Getty Images
© Andy Lyons / Getty Images
© Darron Cummings / AP
Andy Lyons / Getty Images
© Daniel Acker / Bloomberg News
© Morry Gash / AP
© Daniel Acker / Bloomberg News
© Patti Longmire / AP
© Jeff Gentner - Getty Images
© Amy Sancetta / AP
Street Sense, ridden by Calvin Borel, won the Kentucky Derby. “I can’t believe it. I can’t believe it. This is the toughest race in the world to win,” trainer Carl Nafzger said.
May
7
© AP, Reuters, Scanpix
Conservative Nicolas Sarkozy was elected Sunday to a five-year term as France’s president.
PARIS, France - Youths clashed with police in Paris and Lyon on Sunday, and security forces fired tear gas at 2,000 protesters in the French capital after conservative leader Nicolas Sarkozy was elected president.
PARIS, France - Youths clashed with police in Paris and Lyon on Sunday, and security forces fired tear gas at 2,000 protesters in the French capital after conservative leader Nicolas Sarkozy was elected president.