translated from Spanish: Surprising white penguin in the Galapagos Islands

Experts from the Galapagos National Park Directorate believe it could be a penguin that has leucism syndrome, a genetic peculiarity that would define the white color of its plumage.
A white penguin has been discovered by a naturalist on the coastal edge north of Isabel Island – in the Galapagos – while taking a tour with a sailor and two foreign tourists, as reported this Friday (27.11.2020) the National Park of the exclusive archipelago.
Technicians from the Galapagos National Park Directorate reviewed the images of the guide and believe that the white color could be due to a genetic condition known as “leucism”, which results in a partial loss of the pigmentation of the plumage or fur of the animals.
This syndrome differs from albinism because the animal “maintains the normal color of its eyes” and “they are also more resistant to sunlight”, they complemented.
The genetic particularity of “leucism”, originating in some recessive gene, makes the animal, in this case a penguin, have the plumage completely white, although to confirm it it will be necessary to capture it and practice genetic analysis.

Original source in Spanish