Earlier this month, Britni Michelle and her boyfriend decided to go for a scenic drive near their home in Vermont. The pair had hoped to check out the autumn leaves changing colors in the surrounding woods.
But then they ran across a natural phenomenon that they weren’t expecting.
Cruising down the street, Britni spotted a bright white figure in the grass just off the roadway.
“I actually thought it was a cat,” Britni told The Dodo. “Until it started crossing in front of my car.”
Turns out, the “cat” was actually a porcupine who appeared to be an albino. Only about 1 in 10,000 porcupines are born with that condition, making the couple’s encounter an incredibly rare one.
“I questioned if what I was seeing was actually what I was seeing,” Britni said. “He was very cute.”
The plump porcupine leisurely made his way across the road before climbing up a hill and out of sight.
Neither Britni nor her boyfriend had ever run across an albino porcupine before, so seeing one on their drive made the scenic outing even more memorable.
“It definitely made our day,” Britni said.