Family Has Rare Encounter With Cutest Little Albino Animal

"We didn’t know what it was until we researched" 😍

While out and about on a secluded road in the woods in Maine the other day, Neil Kelley and his family noticed someone in a tree nearby. He couldn’t help but catch their eyes.

“This white furry creature did not blend in with its surroundings,” Kelley told The Dodo. “It would be difficult to miss. We didn’t know what it was until we researched.”

What the Kelleys didn’t realize at the time, however, was that the conspicuous animal was actually one most will never see.

Neil Kelley

The animal, it turns out, was an albino porcupine.

According to the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, only 1 in 10,000 porcupines are born with albinism — making this little guy a truly rare sight. And, lucky for the Kelleys, he didn't seem to mind being seen.

"[He] wasn't startled or alarmed. Very calm and poised," Kelley said.

Neil Kelley

After a short time, the all-white porcupine decided to climb down from his perch and venture deeper into the woods. Kelley and his family looked on as he disappeared peacefully out of view, perhaps never to be seen again by another person.

"It was on the edge of a very secluded wooded area," Kelley said, adding that the encounter is one he and his family won't soon forget: "[We] were surprised."