How Rare is an Albino Raccoon? (Where to Find One)

The albino raccoon is one of the wonders of nature that many people look forward to seeing because it’s always a beauty to behold. But if you are waiting to see an albino raccoon in your yard anytime soon, then you might need to take a pinch of patience and get into a comfortable position, because it could be a long wait.

How Rare Is An Albino Raccoon In The World?

The report released by The Cleveland Museum of Natural History says that the chances of a mother raccoon having an albino raccoon baby is 1 in every 10,000 to 20,000 raccoon births.

But since we live in a world of endless wonders, that 1 out of about 20,000 raccoons born in the wild might just end up in your yard someday. And you will be beholding the sight that so many people hope to behold. But in the meantime, you might not want to get your hopes too high, to avoid getting disappointed. 

Where Do Albino Raccoons Live?

Albino raccoons are just like other raccoons that you can find anywhere. They live in places where non-albino raccoons live. These include parts of people’s homes like attics, trees with hollows, holes, rock crevices, and abandoned buildings, among others. 

How Rare Is A White Raccoon?

Albinism which can occur in other mammals apart from raccoons is the partial or total absence of pigment in the skin, hair, and eye of the animal. Albinism results in these parts of their bodies lacking the usual colors that they should have. An albino raccoon will appear white or off-white because the pigment meant to give it the usual brownish and gray look is absent.

Although their rare appearances make them unique and highly sought after. Their appearances endanger their lives as they are not able to camouflage in the wild. Their natural enemies can easily spot them in the wild and probably devour them before they can even get to the adult stage. Making it difficult for a white raccoon born close to your yard to live long enough for you to see it.

Baby Albino Raccoon 

How rare is an albino raccoon in its babyhood stage? Albino raccoon babies have been seen in zoos, pet shops, and in the wild. Though very rare, they are not impossible to see. The next mother raccoon to visit your yard might just be visiting with baby albino raccoons. 

When you spot a baby albino raccoon, it might be in the company of an overprotective mother raccoon. So, you will need the help of an expert to extract it from its mother’s company to avoid being bitten. 

Extracting an albino raccoon from the wild might be a noble thing to do. Because it might save the baby albino raccoon from serving as a snack for the bigger predators in the wild. Since its outstanding white furs stand as traitors when predators are around the corner. 

Are Albino Raccoons Blind?

As beautiful and rare as albino raccoons are, the source of their beauty is a genetic defect. And just like human albinos, raccoon albinos are sensitive to light.

But are albino raccoons blind? No, albino raccoons are not blind but their visions are not as clear as those of non-albino raccoons. This even goes a long way in endangering their lives because if they can’t spot an enemy in daylight, then they are unlikely going to run away from the predator. 

So, these poor shining wonders of nature do not just have their traitors of eye-catchy furs to deal with. They also have to contend with poor vision. No wonder they are likely to die before they get to the adult stage or get seen by humans. 

What Does It Mean To See A Albino Raccoon?

Because of how rare albino raccoons are, they are perceived as divine symbols in some cultures. In Native American culture, they symbolize peace and are considered good omens. Which is why they do not kill albino raccoons or other albino animals.  

But outside cultural beliefs and superstitions, what does it mean to see an albino raccoon? 

Albino raccoons are just one of those gifts of nature to the environment due to their uniqueness. It’s just like encountering any wonders of nature. There is no deeper meaning to it.

But you are definitely a lucky one, to behold a sight that so many people desire to behold.

How Long Do Albino Raccoons Live?

Generally, raccoons can live up to three years. But the albino raccoons are likely not going to make it to three years on Earth. This could be as a result of the health implications of albinism, or their inability to successfully camouflage and hide from their predators. 

So most albinos either fall prey or die from health complications associated with their condition. 

Albino Raccoon Facts 

The human community finds albino raccoons quite fascinating. Unfortunately, being so fascinating comes with a huge price for the albino raccoons. The genetic mutation that leads to their pale appearance can also expose them to so many dangers such as sunburns among others. 

To adapt, the albino raccoons alongside other raccoons have adopted nocturnal lives. This is why you will hardly find an albino raccoon out during the day. They tend to sleep more during the day, to protect themselves from being snacks. 

And also because it is very difficult for them to forage during the daytime. It’s always easier for animals to forage when they can see clearly, but the sensitivity of albino raccoons’ eyes to light prevents that during the day.

To birth an albino raccoon, a raccoon with the recessive gene for albinism will have to get crossed by another raccoon with a recessive gene for albinism.  

Blonde Raccoon 

When you ask how rare is an albino raccoon, you are also asking about the blonde raccoon. Two albino raccoon varieties exist, white and off-white raccoons. The off-white raccoons usually look blonde, thus the name, blonde raccoons. 

They do not look at white as the white raccoons with the pink hues, but they are also eye-catchy. 

How Much Is An Albino Raccoon Worth?

It is quite difficult to place a particular price tag on albino raccoons. Consider the answer to the question, how rare is an albino raccoon? And you will understand why it is difficult.

Albino raccoons are so rare that you will hardly find people trying to sell you an albino raccoon. But when you finally find one, it will likely be expensive. 

From our research, we found that a well-tamed non-albino raccoon pet is worth about $300. While an albino raccoon can be sold for over $600. 

Albino Raccoons For Sale 

Depending on your budget, you can check the next pet shop in your city, to find out if they have an albino raccoon in a cage. And if you can’t find it there, you can keep checking other pet shops. Because of how rare an albino raccoon is when they occur, people tend to keep them and hope that they give birth to more albinos since albinism is hereditary. 

There are lots of online and offline pet shops that offer their tamed animals at affordable prices. Even if you cannot find an albino raccoon in these shops at the moment, you can book one with them and wait till they have it. 

Also, check to see if it’s legal to have raccoons as pets in your state.

Because of how unique these shining wonders of nature are, we believe that they are worth preserving for the future generation to see. So when you encounter an albino raccoon, it will be a noble thing to call the appropriate authority to rescue it from the wild before it turns into a snack for the other mean guys in the wild.