アルビノのガラパゴスゾウガメの赤ちゃん、一般公開　スイス

【ジュネーブＡＦＰ＝時事】スイス西部セルビオンのトロピカリウム動物園で３日、先月生まれた珍しいアルビノ（先天性色素欠乏症）のガラパゴスゾウガメが一般公開された。（写真はスイス西部セルビオンのトロピカリウム動物園で一般公開されたアルビノのガラパゴスゾウガメの赤ちゃん）
　皮膚は白く、目は赤い。体重は５０グラムほどで、手のひらに収まる大きさだ。
　アルビノは、肌や髪、目のメラニン色素がほとんど生成されない遺伝子疾患で、動物では視力や聴力の低下を伴うことがある。
　ガラパゴスゾウガメは国際自然保護連合（ＩＵＣＮ）のレッドリストに記載されており、寿命は最長２００年。通常、皮膚や甲羅は黒く、飼育下でも野生でもアルビノの個体が確認された例はない。
　フィリップ・モレル園長は、アルビノの個体の寿命は野生では数週間が限度だろうが、できるだけ長生きしてほしいと語った。性別はまだ分かっていないという。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2022/06/06-14:56）

Visitors to a Swiss zoo caught a glimpse on Friday of a rare albino Galapagos giant tortoise born in May.
The baby tortoise may be a unique sight to behold with fair skin and red eyes. It weighs around 50 grams (1.7 ounces), and fits in the palm of one's hand.
Albinism is a genetic condition that results in little or no production of the pigment melanin, which determines the colour of the skin, hair and eyes. In animals, it can be accompanied by loss of sight and hearing.
The condition has never been observed in the tortoise species whose skin and shell are usually black, both in captivity and the wild.
We are blessed by the gods, said Philippe Morel, owner of Tropiquarium zoo in Servion village, western Switzerland.
He said the creature was of incredible zoological interest as a small group of schoolchildren marvelled at the baby in front of a glass window.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists the Galapagos giant tortoises, which can live up to 200 years, as endangered.
Around 23,000 tortoises are believed to live on the archipelago.
The park's owner said he believed the albino tortoise's lifespan would be limited to a few weeks in the wild but is hopeful the creature, whose sex is still unknown, will live a long life.
It's crazy how much it climbs, Morel said.
It's more active than the other, said his son, Thomas Morel, who is in charge of the animals at the zoo, while showing another tortoise -- the usual black -- born in early May.
The birth is also exceptional because the tortoises have difficulty reproducing due to their size -- they can reach up to 200 kilogrammes (440 pounds). The rate of successful births is only around two percent.
So far there have been new tortoise arrivals in only three zoos worldwide, including two in Switzerland.