VIDEO: Rare all-white Gentoo Penguin lives like a boss in Chilean Antarctica

In a remarkable sighting in Chilean Antarctica, a female Gentoo penguin with an all-white plumage, attributed to a genetic condition, has been captured on film at the Gabriel Gonzalez Videla Base. 

Typically, Gentoo penguins exhibit mostly black feathers with minimal white patches, making this discovery extraordinary.

Photographer Hugo Alejandro Harros Guerra, residing among a colony of Gentoo penguins, filmed the rare penguin, emphasising the surprises Antarctica offers daily.

The penguin's unique white colouring is likely due to leucistic pigmentation, a genetic variation causing a loss of feather colour, distinct from albinism as its eyes and beak maintain normal colouring.

Dr Lucas Kruger from the Chilean Antarctic Institute explained that leucism affects less than 1% of penguin population, often occurring naturally. 

Despite its rarity, the condition poses challenges for the penguin, making it more vulnerable to predators due to the lack of typical black and white feather camouflage.

Veterinarian Diego Penaloze highlighted the risk, stating that leucistic penguins are more exposed to predation. 

The recently filmed footage displays the white penguin standing out amidst its black-and-white counterparts in the colony.

Notably, this isn't the first instance of leucism in this Gentoo penguin colony.

 Biologist Juliana Vianna pointed out a sighting from eight years ago, indicating potential genetic differentiation within the colony.

Gentoo penguins are considered near threatened on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List, primarily due to population decline on sub-Antarctic islands. 

This rare occurrence adds to the ongoing study of the genetic diversity and permanence of individuals within the Gentoo penguin colonies in the Antarctic Peninsula.