Belgian wildlife photographer Yves Adams had a once-in-a-lifetime experience on a recent journey to South Atlantic. While photographing a colony of over 120,000 king penguins on an island in South Georgia, he spotted a unique yellow penguin that had never been seen before. This yellow plumage was caused by leucism, which results in a loss of pigmentation and turns the penguin’s black feathers into a creamy yellow color.
Adams and his group were lucky to have this one-of-a-kind penguin land right next to them, giving them a clear view amidst the crowded beach. “It was heaven that he landed by us. If it had been 50 meters away we wouldn’t have been able to get this show of a lifetime,” said Adams. According to experts, the chances of a penguin developing leucism are estimated to be 1 in 20,000 to 146,000. The yellow pigment found in the penguin feathers is also chemically different from the pigments that add color to other feathers.
Image Credit & More Info; Yves Adams/Instagram | yvesadams.com