Kamloops photographer captures photos of rare albino marmot

An elusive marmot with a bright white coat is gathering social media fame.

The albino marmot, with a white coat and pink eyes, was spotted last weekend in the Interior by Kamloops photographer Darrel Frolek.

Frolek wouldn’t unveil the location of the marmot, but one with a white coat has been spotted over the years on social media in the Chase area.

It’s likely the same one that’s been spotted over the years, he said. He and a group of photographers went out and found the marmot to snap some photos, April 9.

“I’ve driven out looking for it before and I just got lucky,” he said. “I posted it on B.C. Wildlife (Facebook group) and was surprised (at the reaction).”

His photos gathered more than 300 reactions and almost 30 comments.

“You rarely see an albino of anything, I was just driving looking for it that day and was just lucky,” he said.

Now that he has some nice photos of it, he’ll leave it alone, he said.

“It’s probably at a disadvantage too since it’s white and owls prey on them,” he said.

He travels across the Thompson Nicola district searching for interesting wildlife.

Karl Larsen, wildlife researcher at Thompson Rivers University, said via email while albino animals are uncommon there's a fair number of them being reported on the web in part due to social media and the rise of people always carrying cameras.

"Albino squirrels, and marmots are big squirrels, are always turning up," he said.

"It’s interesting when you see an albino that has obviously made it to maturity, as one would intuitively think that white colouration would make survival more difficult for them — at least for smaller animals."

Some animals have an easier time surviving with the lack of colour compared to others. An albino spadefoot toad may have difficulty surviving due to lack of protection from UV rays, Larsen said.

"But spadefoots are largely nocturnal, so maybe not as big an issue for them. And, being an albino may be less of an issue for a mammal that has its skin covered by fur, even if it is an albino. And not all albino animals are white with pink pupils," he said.

The albino marmot hasn't been the only animal spotted recently with unusual colouring. A white robin was seen in a Kamloops resident's backyard last weekend.

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