magical mole

OK, this is getting weird. In the space of eight weeks we’ve seen a perfectly white koi carp in Isihikawa prefecture, an angelic white crow in Shimane prefecture, and now a tiny albino mole quite literally pops up in Wakayama prefecture, Japan!

The 10.5 cm-long azuma mogura Japanese mole was discovered by 64-year-old Sumiko Tanimura on the morning of December 3. While she was tending to daikon radishes growing in her nearby vegetable plot, the cheeky little fellow sprang out of the soil right in front of her.

“This is the first time I’ve ever seen a mole this colour,” Ms. Tanimura commented. “It gave me quite a shock.”

Tetsuhara Hosoda, a part-time lecturer at Kansai University who has been collecting data on moles in the prefecture for years now, told local that media that the mole was extremely rare and that its colour was likely the result of a defective gene.

“In 20 years of studying moles, I’ve never come across anything quite like it,” he added.

The mole was given the once-over by the Dr. Hosoda’s team and when weighed checked in at just 54 grams, which is barely more than one of these bags of romantic potato chips.

All together now: Aaaaaw!

Source: Agara Title image: Yahoo! Japan