Exceptionally rare ginger seal pup may have to be rescued after being shunned

An incredibly rare seal pup born with "ginger" hair has been spotted on the coast of the Sea of Okhotsk in Russia.

However, despite being a remarkable sight in the Animal Kingdom, sadly the pup may have to be rescued due to the fact its herd is beginning to shun it from the colony.

The seal - also known as a pinniped - instantly stands out from the others in the colony due to its ginger-ish fur, pink flippers, and blue eyes.

Per the Daily Mail, experts have predicted that a seal born with these partial albino traits is roughly one-in-100,000.

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Biologist Dr Vladimir Burkanov - who shared snaps of the pup on his Instagram account - has said that the seal - which has been aptly nicknamed The Ugly Duckling - has not yet been totally rejected by its herd, but there are signs that the other seals on Tyuleny Island are turning on it.

Burkanov said: "This pup looks well-fed and was very active, so its mother clearly gave it plenty of milk.

"Other seals don't pay too much attention to it in a somewhat worrying manner, so something is not quite right with it."

However, Burkanov did add that he seal is not being "chased or bitten", which would be signs of total rejection.

Due to its genetics, the ginger seal is believed to have poor eyesight and Burkanov says it is unlikely that the seal will ever successfully breed.

As a result, wildlife specialists are ready to rescue the mammal and hand it to a dolphinarium should it be rejected.

Another seal with the same colorings is known to have reached maturity in the Severo-Zapadnoe rookery on Bering Island, and is now believed to be five or six years old (pictured below).

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However, Burkanov says this seal "did not participate in reproduction this season and was seen on the bachelor section of the rookery only."

Burkanov adds that this older seal could also be the "first documented case of the survival of a northern fur seal of an abnormal color to adulthood."

Despite it being completely possible that this newly discovered pup could grow and mature with the rest of its herd, another case back in 2011 saw a ginger fur seal called Nafanya - also from Tyuleny Island - having to be rescued by experts for its safety.

Nafanya's new life can be seen in the video below:

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It was subsequently transported to the Sochi Dolphinarium on the Black Sea.

Let's hope, in this instance, nature will be kind.