Rare piebald moose caught on video in western Newfoundland

A photographer in western Newfoundland captured what he calls a "once in a lifetime"encounter with an unusual patterned moose this week.

Gerard Gale, who runs his own photography business, was in Black Duck Siding near Stephenville on Monday when he spotted a large mostly-white moose havinga snack on some bushes.

With his high-resolution camera, he recorded avideo of the majestic looking animal from as close as three-feet away.

Sowhat is a piebald moose?

Gale's experienceisn't the first time a mostly-white moose has been seen in that part of Newfoundland. Back in the summer of2015, one was seen several times around the Stephenville and Port au Port region.

At the time, many people referred to the animal as an albino moose.

However, the province's wildlife divisionhas said it's actually referred to as a piebald moose. Piebald, or pied, animals are those with a pattern of pigmented spots on a white background of hair, feathers or scales.

Whereasalbino characteristicsare extremely rare and not usually passed directly down to offspring, there seems to be a genetic influence in some moose in the Port au Port area that is creating the piebaldpattern.

In fact, special legislation applies to the regionknown as Moose Management Area 43 which says hunters are not allowed to kill moose that are predominantly white in colour.

• Read more about piebald moose in this story from 2015