Albino moose

[snopes]

Once in awhile there is an opportunity to take in a piece of nature that you may never see. The photographer of the following photos (unknown) was one lucky person. In these days of unrest and turmoil it is great to see that Mother Nature can still produce some wondrous beauty. The odds of seeing an albino moose are astronomical and to see two of them together is nearly impossible. We wanted to share these photos with as many people as possible because you will probably never have a chance to see this rare sight again. This is a really special treat, so enjoy the shot of a life time.

These animals were photographed just north of the Wisconsin border on a highway near Marenisco, MI. Someone asked if there is anything mystical about this sighting. I do not know but I do know that I really enjoy looking at them. I am pretty sure that if you send them to five friends nothing magical will happen except you will know that you have shared a unique experience that they will never see again... ENJOY

[llewtrah]

Where there is one albino the odds of another in the same population are actually rather good. Albino is a recessive gene that is carried unseen by some normal colour individuals. If a population gets inbred (not uncommon in small herds/territories) then recessive genes start showing up rather than remaining hidden. Where a male that carries the gene becomes the dominant male in the territory/herd, he'll pass that gene to (on average) half his offspring. The chances of those offspring breeding with each other (or him mating with his own daughters) gives a good chance of albinos showing up.

Unless they are disadvantaged by their colour and picked off by predators, once the albinos starting mating with each other or with normal coloured animals carrying the albino gene, you'll see lots more albinos.

There could be a whole population of albino moose in that region. Unfortunately, that would be indicative of inbreeding.

[Floater]

There is an area in Sweden where there is a strain of white elks, but they are not albinos and it might very well be the same with these.

Originally Posted by Floater

There is an area in Sweden where there is a strain of white elks, but they are not albinos and it might very well be the same with these.

If they'd gotten a better views of the eyes, we could tell.

Other Snopes pages:
Albino deer
White bear cub

[llewtrah]

These do look to be albino - the visible skin colour is very pale pink.

It's a trick. It was moose season so these two were disguising themselves as Llamas.

[Tenor CS]

Oh, I thought they were foxes with mange.

[Bryan With a 'Y']

Anybody know if the foliage in those pictures looks like anywhere in MI? I know nothing or less about that part of the country, but the relatively short evergreens and the muskeg underhoof look an awful lot like our neck of the woods. We get a few albino moose up here from time to time; our local paper had pictures of one in a moose calendar they did a while back.
As for several together, the only item I turned up right off was about a herd in southeastern ID a few years back where the genes seemed to run in the herd, story here.

[RingKeeper]

Originally Posted by Bryan With a 'Y'

Anybody know if the foliage in those pictures looks like anywhere in MI? I know nothing or less about that part of the country, but the relatively short evergreens and the muskeg underhoof look an awful lot like our neck of the woods. We get a few albino moose up here from time to time; our local paper had pictures of one in a moose calendar they did a while back.
As for several together, the only item I turned up right off was about a herd in southeastern ID a few years back where the genes seemed to run in the herd, story here.

I was wondering the same thing. I have no idea what MI is like, but those photos look like they could have been taken here.

Albino moose in Newfoundland. White moose are supposed to be pretty common here. Whether or not they are albino is up for argument. It's difficult to tell without seeing the eyes.

This website says the moose in the OP are from Newfoundland

[snopes]

Originally Posted by RingKeeper

I was wondering the same thing. I have no idea what MI is like, but those photos look like they could have been taken here.

Probably not Michigan: http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a...048/BUSINESS05

- snopes

[matches]

Originally Posted by Bryan With a 'Y'

Anybody know if the foliage in those pictures looks like anywhere in MI? I know nothing or less about that part of the country, but the relatively short evergreens and the muskeg underhoof look an awful lot like our neck of the woods. We get a few albino moose up here from time to time; our local paper had pictures of one in a moose calendar they did a while back.
As for several together, the only item I turned up right off was about a herd in southeastern ID a few years back where the genes seemed to run in the herd, story here.

The Foliage is not disimilar from foliage found up north, and in the UP. The Free Press Article seems to call into question the location, and given that multiple albino moose were spoted near a major thoroughfare (you can tell because its paved) , one would think that locals would be atwiter about the white moose. Heck there'd probably be a t-shirt stand next to the mystery spot.

That being said, the photos don't seem either obviously faked, or have a reason to be faked, so I would presume that somewhere there are large white mammals living near a road with Pine Trees all over the place. From personal experience I would say that could be anywhere in the nothern United States, or lower Canada. I don't know enough about the foliage in northern Canada, and Alaska to know if the pines are that thick up there.

It could also obviously be in Europe somewhere, especially if Large white Mammals are common up there.

Oh, but a quick google search of white moose on the image gallery gives you this (among other) websites:

http://www.mooselandtours.com/white_moose.html

mytery solved.

"The moose in question are "the white moose of Foleyet". While there are apparently other white moose sightings across Canada, Newfoundland, & Labrador, the white moose around the Foleyet area have drawn attention, probably because there have been more of them in an area whose population is moved to protect them, and their numbers are dwindling. These moose are referred to as the Armstrong White Moose Strain, as Jane Armstrong was the first to report seeing a white moose cow with twin calves over 40 years ago. In a recent letter to Joel Theriault, Jane relates seeing many more white moose over a number of years, several of which met an ill fate on railroad tracks. "

[snopes]

Oh, but a quick google search of white moose on the image gallery gives you this (among other) websites: http://www.mooselandtours.com/white_moose.html

mytery solved.

That's an article about white moose in Foleyet, but I don't see anything in it that specifically identifies the photos displayed in the OP as having been taken there. Am I missing something?

- snopes

[matches]

Originally Posted by snopes

That's an article about white moose in Foleyet, but I don't see anything in it that specifically identifies the photos displayed in the OP as having been taken there. Am I missing something?

- snopes

My point was simply that the existance of White Mooses (Meese?) are not uncommon, nor probably albinos.

That being said, the link within the article (http://www.whitemoose.ca/) has numerous shots of White Moose in landscapes and locals very similar to the ones pictured.

Given the similarity in road construction and design, and foliage visible in the background I'd say it is probable the moose in the picture are of the same herd as discussed in the original link.

But they could also have snuck south to Michigan (or North to Michigan if they came through Windsor) or they could be Albinos, However given the proliferation of photos available of these Non Albino White Moose in Canada, I would guess they are the likely source for the photographs.

But what do I know.

[matches]

The Photos are definatly not taken in Michigan!

O.k. at least probably not taken in Michigan.

The first photo pictures a Red car coming towards the photographer, on the front of the car are License plates that appear to be white.

Michigan only has rear plates, not front plates, so the car is probably not from Michigan, likewise, white plates are common in the Province of Ontario, so that would mark a possible orgination of the photo in Canada, and possibly Ontario.

So there you go, there's that.

[Floss]

This blog claims that the pictures were taken in New Brunswick, Canada.

ETA: This person on Flickr claims that the photos were taken by her dad in New Brunswick, in April 2006. Although this site, for example, posted one of the pictures in September 2006, two months before the pictures were posted on Flickr.

Edit again: An article about the moose pictures. The writer of the article reckons that they were probably not taken in Michigan.

Originally Posted by Floss

Edit again: An article about the moose pictures. The writer of the article reckons that they were probably not taken in Michigan.

Hmmm...that article seems familiar. Where else might I have seen it recently?

[Floss]

Originally Posted by methuselah

Hmmm...that article seems familiar. Where else might I have seen it recently?

Ah, oops, missed that :o I should probably not browse internet forums when I should be sleeping...

[Morrigan]

Originally Posted by matches

The Photos are definatly not taken in Michigan!

O.k. at least probably not taken in Michigan.

The first photo pictures a Red car coming towards the photographer, on the front of the car are License plates that appear to be white.

Michigan only has rear plates, not front plates, so the car is probably not from Michigan, likewise, white plates are common in the Province of Ontario, so that would mark a possible orgination of the photo in Canada, and possibly Ontario.

So there you go, there's that.

Just a quick comment. While Michigan doesn't have lisence plates on the front, many people do have vanity plates on the front. And there are many Canadian people who drive in Michigan.

And, all of these articles say that the white moose were from the UP in Michigan, and parts of Canada. Myth solved.

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a...048/BUSINESS05

http://www.johndee.com/discuss/messa...tml?1169838146

*yes, I realize that the first had been posted before*

[snopes]

Originally Posted by Morrigan

And, all of these articles say that the white moose were from the UP in Michigan, and parts of Canada. Myth solved.

Uh, no. The first link is to an article by a Detroit columnist who reported that he was not able to find anything confirming that the pictures were taken in Michigan. The second link is just a message board reposting of the same photos (and the same text) as the OP, with other posters pointing out that the pictures have also appeared on other sites with text claiming they came from other locales.

- snopes

[Morrigan]

http://schreinervideo.blogspot.com/2...-pictures.html

This one says that the moose "shot near Bathurst, New Brunswick, Canada back in September. The road reminds me of the route between Greenville and Kokadjo, Maine I traveled uncounted times while shooting two documentaries in 2004: "Our Other Neighbors" and "Defending the Crown." These female twins were probably born that spring which means they are a little more than two years old now. The pix were sent to me by a friend in Massachusetts who got them through her grandmother in Maine."

If you google "albino moose new brunswick" a bunch of links come up, all with these pictures. So, the albino moose are most likely from New Brunswick, Canada. There are also claims that they're from Greenville, Maine.

Morrigan