Watching rare albino rats in Nghe An mountain town

Unusual color of bamboo rats. Photo: Hung Cuong

The albino bamboo rat has white fur all over its body, red eyes, 4 legs, tail, nose... are all pink, 4 long teeth are yellow.

The owner of this extremely rare albino bamboo rat is Mr. Nguyen Dinh Trung, in Block 6, Kim Son Town (Que Phong). Mr. Trung said that he has a hobby of collecting mutant species such as starlings and bamboo rats. This is the first time he has owned an albino bamboo rat.

Albinism refers to a genetic mutation or simply the lack of dark pigments that turn white. The more “unique” the animal or bird, the more “huge” the price, sometimes up to tens of millions of VND per animal. Photo: Hung Cuong

On the evening of October 27, upon hearing that a resident of Tri Le commune (Que Phong) had caught this bamboo rat, Mr. Trung immediately set off and after agreeing on a price, he brought this albino bamboo rat home to raise. Mr. Trung said that because of his passion for collecting, he bought it just to raise, with no intention of selling. The bamboo rat's food is sugarcane, cassava or the roots of reeds, young reeds...

The albino bamboo rat's four teeth are very large and yellow, different from the white teeth of normal bamboo rats. Photo: Hung Cuong

Nowadays, young people have a trend of “hunting” albino birds and animals to raise to show their status. The price of albino animals is often higher because they have a much shorter lifespan than normal animals.