Plight of animals who become outcasts because of wrong markings.

MAIL ON LINE UK
Nov. 20,2006

As everyone knows, it's not easy being different.

And when you are a hippopotamus having a fetching pink hide is definitely not de rigeur.

But it's nothing that a quick wallow in the mud wouldn't solve.

For other animals born different, however, the laws of the jungle can be less forgiving - particularly if nature's quirk has robbed them of their camouflage.

Life for yellow crocodiles, cheetahs with stripes, white lions, albino baboons and leopards without spots can be tough.

And as majestic and charming as they may be to human eyes, standing out from the crowd in the animal kingdom could cost them their lives.

A spokesman for programme makers who charted the lives of the unusual beasts, said: "To be born an outsider is a rare and dramatic event."

"Animals with startlingly different colouring to their species' norm face completely new challenges as they work harder to survive."

"These outsiders are not well camouflaged for the habitat they were born into, which means they are more likely to be spotted by predators or if they are predators themselves it will be more difficult for them to stalk their prey."

"They are exposed and vulnerable."

"In addition to this, they risk being ostracised by the rest of their group for being different."

The programme featured the rare sight of a yellow baby crocodile emerging from its egg alongside its green siblings.

The newborn is immediately accepted by its mother, however, and is carried in her mouth from her nest in the sand to the safety of the river with remarkable delicacy.

Then there is Senga, a baby baboon born with milky white fur. Senga faces a double adversity within the strict hierarchy of her troop as she was born to a low ranking female, making it even more difficult for her to win acceptance.

Kito the lion - whose name means "the jewel" - is the only one of his litter to be born white.

Set against the golden grass of the African Savannah, he does indeed shine like a rare pearl.

But although not rejected by his mother and protected by the rest of the pride as a youngster, his bright fur will not help his hunting prowess later in life.

Such quirks of nature have fascinated mankind for centuries.

Unusually marked beasts appear in many ancient African fables and have been both revered and feared by African tribes.

These unusual beasts were the subject of Africa's Outsiders, a documentary screened on satellite channel Animal Planet on Christmas Day.

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Speaking of "fascinated mankind for centuries," Montezuma kept families of albino humans in his zoo. Although they were "captive" they were looked upon,treated and studied as Gods. Cortez later took them to Spain, after his disservice to the Aztec people, where they were afforded the same courtesy they had known in Tenochtitlan with Montezuma.