A rare one in 100,000 albino squirrel is found in Haddington.

A rare albino white squirrel has been spotted in East Lothian.

Jim Germain photographed the animal in a tree in his garden in Haddington.

According to conservationists at the Scottish Wildlife Trust, the chance of an albino squirrel being born is about one in 100,000.

Experts believe it may be a gray squirrel with albinism rather than its red cousin.

Mr Germain said he first saw the squirrel last year, but didn’t think it would make it until this Christmas due to territory battles with local greys.

But despite those challenges, Mr. Germain, 71, now sees it every day.

“It’s great to see it in my own garden,” he said.

“When I first saw it last year, I thought there was no hope in hell it would make it, but now I think it’s more manageable.

“I was only able to sneak into the corner of my house and take a picture of it from a distance. It looks really cute tucked between the branches.”

He added: “I’d really like to get a picture of it up close. Hopefully, with more control over it, it’ll be less nervous.”

Albinism is a congenital condition caused by a lack of melanin, which gives skin and hair its color.

Squirrels, like the one at Haddington, can be identified as albino if they have a white coat with pink eyes.

Natural red squirrels with albinism or leucism, a condition that causes partial color loss, are more rare.

A spokesman for the conservation group Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels, a branch of the Scottish Wildlife Trust, said East Lothian had a higher than average population of white squirrels, but they did not have exact figures.

However, he added that the animals are still an invasive species that pose a threat to the native red variety.

“We get quite a few sightings of albino gray squirrels from the East Lothian region throughout the year,” he said.

“It may be that there is a prevalence of these genes in the population in this part of Scotland, although we cannot give a precise figure for the number of squirrels with this condition at this time.”

He added: “It should be said that these albino gray squirrels, while interesting to watch, are an invasive non-native species that pose a huge threat to Scotland’s native red squirrels, which they rely on for food and habitat. compete.”