Locals have been asked to look but not touch following the discovery of a rare albino echidna in central-western New South Wales.
Christened "Raffie" by the local council, the animal was spotted in the Bathurst region.
Resident Geoff Hadley said he came across the monotreme on a local road, helping it cross safely.
He described the encounter as an "out of this world … once in a lifetime" experience.
"I thought it had been hit by a car originally because it just wasn't walking," he said.
"I've seen hundreds of echidnas but I've never, ever seen a white one — it was just crazy."
The echidna's last-known location has been deliberately kept under wraps, and people are being asked to keep their distance if they come across it.
"Please feel free to take a couple of snaps but do not approach, touch, or try and contain him," Bathurst Regional Council said, in a Facebook post.
"It is important to leave wildlife alone, as you could risk them losing their scent trail or leaving young unattended in the burrow."
An 'uncommon' encounter
John Grant, a spokesperson from wildlife rescue organisation WIRES, said it was unusual to find an albino echidna, but it was hard to say precisely how rare they were, as the animals were nocturnal.
"They're not common, that's for sure," he said.
"I think in all the time I've been here, which is … 10 years, we've seen three, maybe four … that have come into care.
"We get the occasional rare wallaby that you'll see that's albino [and] I know last year we got an albino kookaburra, which was pretty rare."
Asked whether he was concerned people would go out of their way to find Raffie, Mr Grant said he was confident locals would act responsibly.
"We're finding that people are more and more responsible around native wildlife," he said.
"They know to keep their distance … keep any animals you have contained. It's best just to leave them alone."
Anyone concerned for the wellbeing of a native animal is asked to call their local wildlife carer group or WIRES on 13 000 WIRES.
