One of the sport hunters reported that during a hunt for jackals in an area adjacent to Kazakhstan, they noticed predators with unusual coloring in the reeds. "They had white spots on their fur. At first, we thought they were stray dogs, but when we looked at them more closely, we realized they were jackals," he noted.
Biologist Irina Stezhkova explained that these jackals are albinos suffering from a genetic mutation that results in a lack of melanin. "Albinism can be complete or partial, as in this case. Such animals are extremely rare in the wild because it is a recessive trait that appears only if both parents carry the corresponding gene. It is likely that these jackals are the result of inbreeding. Albinos generally have a harder time surviving in the wild, and one reason is that their white spots make them more visible to predators. Similar sightings of albino jackals have been recorded in Russia, India, and some African countries," she added.
