Photographer captures ultra-rare albino squirrel in snap he had wanted to take for two years

Albinism, a genetic condition which reduces the amount of melanin a creature has, can dramatically reduce an animal's chance of survival in the wild for a number of reasons.

The condition leaves animals with white skin or fur because of a lack of pigment. This is particularly problematic for creatures such as squirrels who need to blend in with tree trunks and leaves to avoid predators.

Another problem faced by creatures with albinism is poor eyesight. The signature pink or reddish eyes albinos have have usually developed abnormally, and so they often struggle with depth perception and focussing on objects.

The increased difficulty in surviving on top of the fact that albinism occurs in just 1 in 100,000 mammal births means that albino squirrels are incredibly rare.

However, it is important to draw a distinction between albino squirrels and the far rarer white squirrel.

White squirrels suffer from leucism, a mutated gene which turns their skin white but leaves their eyes black, meaning they do not suffer with any of the eye problems albinos have.

There are around five million grey squirrels in Britain, but experts believe there are fewer than one in a million that have leucism.