This white wallaby was spotted by two National Parks and Wildlife Service officers among the snow drifts near the border of Kosciuszko National Park.

Adult albino wallabies are extremely rare.

If they haven't been abandoned by their mothers, or suffered skin cancer, they are easy to spot among the browns and greens of the Australian bush - making them prey for sharp-eyed eagles, dingoes or wild dogs.

But this albino wallaby's inherited genetic mutation becomes an advantage in winter in the Snowy Mountains.

NPWS officers Amanda Bellamy and John "Scratch" Moberget were installing fire trail signs along the Island Bend Fire Trail last week when they spotted the animal.


NPWS Ranger Andrew Miller said the pair were very surprised - and happy they had a camera.

"It's quite rare and I've never seen one in all the time I've been here," Mr Miller said.

"We think it's possibly a swamp wallaby but we are not actually sure. It could be a red-necked wallaby. Either way, it's an amazing find."

Mr Miller said the wallaby was about 90cm tall and would be between one and two years old. "It's survived this long so I'd say that it could live for quite a while," he said.

"It's really only got one natural predator up there but the swamp wallabies are pretty fast, so it's not really easy for a wild dog to catch it anyway."

Swamp wallabies tend to live a solitary life, only mixing with others of the same species when it's time to mate.