Albino raccoon spotted feeding on Florida woman's backyard fruit

NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla., Sept. 16 (UPI) -- A Florida woman said she ran inside for her phone to record an unusual visit from a rare creature -- an albino raccoon.

Regina Courtney said she went out into her New Port Richey back yard with her cat and cockatiel when she spotted the all-white creature snacking on the fruit from a jelly palm tree.

"When I walked outside there he was!" Courtney told WTVT-TV/DT.

The resident ran back inside to retrieve her cellphone so she could capture video of the albino raccoon.

Courtney said the raccoon didn't seem to mind being filmed.

"He just kept eating and when he was done he walked away," she said.

Gary Morse of Florida Fish and Wildlife said it is "not common" to spot an albino raccoon, although they have been previously seen in various locations around North America.

The Indiana Division of Fish and Wildlife said in a Facebook post following an albino raccoon's capture in December 2014 that people "have a better chance of being struck by lightning than seeing an albino raccoon."

"Many wildlife biologists around the nation agree that albinism occurs in about one every of 750,000 raccoons. Also, very few survive in the wild as they cannot successfully hide from predators," the post said.