![]() However, he became even more famous when National Geographic featured him on the cover in March 1967 with the name given to him by Sabater, Snowflake. ![]() Upon his arrival in Barcelona in November 1966, Snowflake was given an official reception by the then-mayor of Barcelona, Josep Maria de Porcioles, and was called Blancanieves (“Snow White”) in the newspaper Tele/Exprés. Snowflake received the recessive gene from both parents, causing his albinism. The study also revealed that Snowflake’s albinism was caused by a mutation of the SLC45A2 gene. In diffuse light similar to that in its biotope, we calculated that it blinked on average 20 times a minute.”Ī study of Snowflake’s genome determined that his parents had 12% of their DNA in common, leading researchers to believe that his parents were uncle and niece. The animal displayed marked photophobia, which caused it to close its eyes repeatedly when exposed to bright light. The choroidal vessels were perfectly visible, and the pupil was normal. The media were transparent, and the fundus of the eye was normal and totally depigmented. Accommodation and refraction were normal. “The eye had a bluish sclera, a normal cornea, and a light blue iris which was very transparent to transillumination. According to Barcelona Zoo director Antonio Jonch: However, tests to determine if he had a central blind spot did not find one. Snowflake was a western lowland gorilla with non-syndromic oculocutaneous albinism, which caused him to have poor vision. Sabater Pi then nicknamed him Floquet de Neu, which means “little snowflake” in Catalan. After keeping Snowflake at his home for four days, Mañé transported him to Bata where he was purchased by primatologist Jordi Sabater Pi. ![]() Mañé had killed the rest of Snowflake’s gorilla group, who were traditionally colored. ![]() Snowflake, who was originally named Nfumu Ngui in Fang language meaning “white gorilla” by his captor, was captured in the Río Muni region in Spanish Guinea on 1 October 1966 by an ethnic Fang farmer named Benito Mañé. He was a western lowland gorilla and was kept at Barcelona Zoo in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain from 1966 until his death in 2003. Snowflake, also known as Floquet de Neu in Catalan, Copito de Nieve in Spanish, and Flocon de Neige in French, was the world’s only known albino gorilla to date. ![]()
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