Pink elephants might seem like something from fairy tales or cartoons.

But this was exactly what was seen by several photographers in a South African game reserve.

Different from the herd

In March 2019, a video of a rather unusual elephant went viral on Facebook, garnering more than 6,000 shares and 26,000 likes.

The baby elephant was shown frolicking with the herd, but unlike the rest of its family, it was sporting pale pink skin instead.

The little elephant's pink skin seems to be more obvious under bright sunlight.

You can watch the cute scene below:

The footage was reportedly taken by safari ranger Timothy Van Vuuren, at the Malamala game reserve in South Africa's Kruger National Park.

The calf is estimated to be about two to three weeks old at the time, according to Earth Touch News, and you can spot her following closely behind her grey-skinned mother.

Albino or leucistic?

From the clips, it is hard to determine if the baby elephant is albino or leucistic.

Albinism is a condition where there is an absence of melanin in the skin, resulting in the loss of colour of skin, hair and feathers.

Animals with albinism usually have pink or red eyes.

Leucism on the other hand, only refers to a partial loss of pigmentation, and is a genetic condition that can only be found in animals.

Leucistic animals have overall pale-coloured fur, skin or feathers or have patches of pale colour, and have normal-coloured eyes.

Such pale skin for an elephant could mean a tough road ahead for survival.

The lighter colour makes it easier to spot by predators, and it could be more susceptible to the harsh sunlight as well, especially in the heat of the savannah.

Another pink elephant spotted in 2016

This is not the first occurrence of a pink elephant in Kruger National Park.

Another wildlife photographer, Nicki Coertze, uploaded photos of a similarly rose-coloured elephant to Facebook in a 2017 album titled "Pink Ellie",  but the sighting was in January 2016.

This second pink calf was seen around her family near a watering hole.

Here are some of Coertze's photos. Check out the calf's bright pink ears.

This particular pink elephant is likely a different individual from the one Van Vuuren spotted, and from Coertze's photos, seemed to be much younger at the time the photos were taken.

It is also uncertain if this elephant is albino or leucistic.

Coertze described it as a "once-in-a-lifetime experience" and "wow moment".

Quite magical.

Here's a sighting of another pale creature, this time an albino panda in China.

https://mothership.sg/2019/05/rare-albino-panda-sichuan-china/?fbclid=IwAR2nmHVN9MD24jWUc1K-OTLT4vfpjL4SfJ-AAnyRH78jwKJsrssVLf0rtPo

Top photo by Timothy Jansen Van Vuuren / FB and Nicki Coertze / FB