This is one of a series of photos of these animals making the rounds on the internet ..
The odds of seeing an albino moose are astronomical and to see [them] in the upper peninsula of Michigan, near Wisconsin, is even greater than astronomical. 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.
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Hmmm.. Could it really be this rare? I suspect that with no natural predators left anymore, that an albino selection is not as self-regulating as it once was before man and before Native Americans that once hunted them, and in fact could be a positive selection, as auto drivers can more readily see a white moose as opposed to a "normal" dun-colored moose.
Oooh My!...I just saw our village white squirrel this past monday. It was running acrossed our one and only highway near the creek. Amazing! What is it that intrigues us about these white animals? hmmmmm.....
Wow, two of them! Do you suppose they could be ... RELATED?
"To see two of them together is nearly impossible." - only if you assume the two events are independent. I'm no biologist, but I think the odds are that these particular moose are rather closely related, which would increase the chances of seeing two albino's together by quite a bit.
Maybe their even twins?
Can you please tell us where this photo was taken? I want to know if any of my family have seen them in person yet. My guess is yes, if it's in Marquette or Menominee counties, or points east.
I miss the UP. I lived there for 2 years going to school. Anyways, I think that predation would have been a heavy positive selection force for albinism in moose. Wolves feeding on moose in the winter, when heavy snows would make albinos camouflaged, have easier time feeding because moose often have reduced mobility. Chest deep snow for a moose is tough to walk through. While albinism may be rare, I wonder if selection pressure on dark moose might have increased its occurrence.
There is some really interesting wolf-moose research going on at Michigan Tech (one of my alma matres) - http://www.isleroyalewolf.org
Other sources have suggested that these are not albinos, but a known (although rare) color variant.
Probably pretty tough to be sure. I've seen this series of photos attributed to 3 or 4 states and 2 provinces.
Try http://www.snopes.com/photos/animals/albinomoose.asp
My impression is that all vertebrates (and some invertebrates) throw up occasional albinos and/or pale morphs, probably due to knockout mutations. Just how badly disadvantaged they are, will of course depend on the species. In the case of moose, I'd say never mind the wolves, their major "predator" these days is automobiles. ;-) So I'm with J-dog that visibility is probably an advantage. Note that this picture shows the beasties walking next to a road. Also, not all albinos are pure white! For example, albino boas (popular among reptile fans) have yellow or orange markings over a white base.
Melanism (black or very dark) is almost as widespread, perhaps from knockout of regulator genes. A well-known example is the black squirrels found here and there in the US. I first heard about those from Washington DC, but I recently saw a couple out on Long Island (NY). I couldn't get a picture, but I noted that they blended into the dark bark of their chosen tree, much better than the usual "gray" morph would have.
Too bad you can't really see the animals' eyes -- if they're red, it would confirm albinism; if they're not, it might suggest either an aberrant color morph or that they're leucistic. Leucistic reptiles are pretty well known, but I have to assume it is also present in mammals...
Moose come in a a range of colors from white to brown. The white moose are not albinos. They re not common but when the do occur they occur sometimes a few at at a time. Like in the picture.