Snowflake (,, ; c. 1964 – 24 November 2003) was a western lowland gorilla who is the world's only known albino gorilla to date. He was kept at Barcelona Zoo in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, from 1966 until his death in 2003.

History

Snowflake was captured in the Río Muni region in Spanish Guinea on 1 October 1966 by Benito Mañé, a farmer of the Fang people. Mañé had killed the rest of Snowflake's gorilla group, who were all typically colored gorillas. Mañé then kept Snowflake at his home for four days before transporting him to Bata, where he was purchased by primatologist Jordi Sabater Pi. Originally named Nfumu Ngui in Fang language ("white gorilla") by his captor, he was then nicknamed Floquet de Neu (Catalan for "little snowflake" ) by his keeper, Jordi Sabater Pi.

Characteristics

Snowflake was a western lowland gorilla with non-syndromic oculocutaneous albinism. He had poor vision, though tests to determine whether he had a central blind spot did not find one. Barcelona Zoo director Antonio Jonch wrote: "'The eye had a blueish sclera, a normal cornea, and a light blue iris which was very transparent to transillumination. Accommodation and refraction were normal. The media were transparent and the fundus of the eye normal and totally depigmented. The choroidal vessels were perfectly visible and the pupil was normal. The animal displayed marked photophobia, which caused it to close its eyes repeatedly when exposed to bright light. In diffuse light similar to that in its biotope, we calculated that it blinked on an average of 20 times a minute.'" 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 same study revealed that his albinism was caused by a mutation of the SLC45A2 gene. Snowflake received the recessive gene from both parents, causing his albinism.

Life in Barcelona

Upon his arrival to Barcelona in November 1966, he was given an official reception by the then-mayor of Barcelona, Josep Maria de Porcioles, and called Blancanieves ("Snow White") in the newspaper Tele/Exprés. He became famous, though, with the name given to him by Sabater when National Geographic featured him on the cover in March 1967, with the English name Snowflake. This name spread among the press (Stern, Life, Paris-Match). Sabater himself called the gorilla Copi or Floquet, and in the later years Nfumu.

Offspring

Snowflake fathered 22 offspring by three different mates, or "dams". Six of his offspring survived to adulthood. None of Snowflake's offspring were albino, but all should be heterozygous, recessive carriers, for the albino gene. Half of his grandchildren likely carry the albino gene. If both parents were albino gene carriers, they have a 25% chance of producing an albino offspring and a 50% chance that the offspring will be a carrier of the gene. As of September 2021, Snowflake had a total of 21 grandchildren (11 survived) and eight great-grandchildren (all living). Snowflake's great-grandson N'Kou has pink fingers, which is perhaps suggestive of partial albinism.

Death

In 2001, Snowflake was diagnosed with an unusual form of skin cancer, almost certainly related to his albinism. By 2003, Snowflake's health began to deteriorate. After he began losing interest in his usual activities, isolating himself from other gorillas and exhibiting signs of pain, Snowflake's keepers decided to euthanize him. The decision was publicly announced in September 2003. Thousands of people visited Snowflake at the Barcelona Zoo before he was euthanized on 24 November 2003. At the time of his death, Snowflake was thought to be between 38 and 40 years old.

Legacy

Albino gorillas in other media

Other albino (or white-furred) gorillas similar in appearance to Snowflake have appeared in different media.