Two white moose make rare appearance on highway

Oct. 30 (UPI) -- A Canadian couple captured footage of some unusual pedestrians on a rural highway -- a pair of rare white moose.

Maurice Lamothe and Nicole Leblanc said they were traveling on Highway 101, outside the town of Foleyet, Ontario, when they came across the mother moose and her calf crossing the road.

The couple, who captured video of the unusual animals, said it was the first time they had ever seen a white moose.

Vince Crichton, a retired wildlife biologist specializing in moose biology and management, said the moose do not appear to be albino, as the mother has brown spots on her fur. He said there are known to be moose in Canada with a rare genetic condition that causes the white coloration.

"That gene has been in that population there for years and years and years and every now and then it comes forth and shows itself," Crichton told CBC News.