The last thing that Dana Berry expected to find as he cleaned up trash near Oakland’s Lake Merritt on Sunday was a rare "ghostly" animal inside of a cardboard box. According to SF Gate, Berry was volunteering with Trash Falcons when he came across a racon with leucism. Berry heard the raccoon growling inside the box when he attempted to dump the cardboard with the rest of the trash that he already collected.
"Lo and behold, there was a little guy looking back up at me! I lifted him up carefully and I was tempted to call some of the other Falcons over, but then I thought, well, the poor guy is probably terrified."
The National Park Service detailed what classifies as "leucism" and how the phenomenon presents itself in animals.
"Because albinism affects all melanin production in an animal’s cells, this means that partial albinism cannot exist. This phenomenon is known as leucism, the partial loss of all types of pigmentation, including carotenoids. Leucism causes white coloration, white patches, spots, or splotches on the skin or fur. Leucism is also discernible from albinism because leucism does not affect the pigment cells in the eyes."
Shortly after being spotted in the cardboard box, the frightened raccoon ran to a nearby tree and disappeared into the surrounding nature.