Common knowledge suggests that albino animals are rare in the wild because they stick out like a sore thumb and get eaten by predators, but studies supporting this are relatively scarce. Now, researchers from Australia have discovered that the drawbacks of albinism are not limited to their obvious appearance. Even better, they used our old friends cane toads to prove it.Become a Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/herphighlightsMerch: https://www.redbubble.com/people/herphighlights/shopFull reference list available here: http://www.herphighlights.podbean.comMain Paper References:Funk AT, Martin J, Clark M, Païta A, Jolly CJ, Shine R. 2025. Knocking out genes to reveal drivers of natural selection on phenotypic traits: a study of the fitness consequences of albinism. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences Other Mentioned Papers/Studies:Clark MB, Funk AT, Paporakis A, Brown GP, Beach SJ, Tay A, Deering S, Cooper C, Tizard M, Jolly CJ, Ward-Fear G, Waddle AW, Shine R, Maselko M. 2025. Efficient CRISPR-Cas9-Mediated Genome Editing of the Cane Toad ( Rhinella marina ). The CRISPR Journal Stephenson BP, Velani Z, Ihász N. 2022. The effect of albinism on avian predator attack rates in eastern garter snakes. Zoology Other Links/Mentions:Motorbike frog call from: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/517096-Ranoidea-moorei Editing and Music:Intro/outro – Treehouse by Ed NelsonSpecies Bi-week theme – Michael TimothyOther Music – The Passion HiFi, https://www.thepassionhifi.com