Does Tambo have generations of rare white echidnas whiffling around its paddocks, or could it be the same monotreme appearing decade after decade?
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Richard Turnbull and his son Jack were intrigued to spy a peculiar animal walking through the dry grass on their property Lansdowne while out mustering sheep recently, and were delighted to discover it was an albino echidna.
Telling the story, Jessica Turnbull said the pair had told her it wasn't shy at all, and was happy to be around them as they photographed it.
"We've never seen or heard of them before, but we gather only a handful are seen in Australia each year," she said.
Their rarity was confirmed by the zookeeper manager at the Symbio Wildlife Park near Wollongong, NSW, Julie Mendezona.
"You can have about 1 in 17,000 albinos occurring naturally among animals but you see more with echidnas," she said. "They're good at defending themselves."
Not only do they ward potential predators off with their spines and by quickly digging themselves into the dirt, but they can live for over 30 years.
That could explain why albino echidna sightings abound, relatively speaking, in the Tambo region.
It was in May 2012 that the ABC reported then-grazier John Jones had found an echidna with white colouring south of Tambo.
He took it to the local school to show children and teachers.
"I don't know whether the smaller children realise the significance that they may never seen one ever again," he said at the time.
Jessica Turnbull said her mother-in-law had told her a similar story, of an albino echidna spotted at Lower Lansdowne many years ago, who, as well as being taken to school, was photographed and featured on postcards sold from the town's post office.
"Is this new one the albino's progeny or did the same one walk to head station," Ms Turnbull asked.
They lay one egg a year, and Ms Mendezona said albinism comes about when both parents carry the recessive gene.
She was speaking from experience, as her wildlife park south of Sydney is home to Leo, an albino echidna handed in by a member of the public in November 2010.
"He was found in a carpark and handed in because he was still a puggle who would require to still be fed milk by his mother," Ms Mendezona said. "Symbio stepped in and raised him through to adulthood and he has been here ever since."
She said it was safe to assume more albino echidnas were out there in the wild due to their successful defensive adaptations.
Sally Gall
Based at Blackall, CW Qld, where I've raised a family, run Merino sheep and beef cattle, and helped develop a region - its history, tourism, education and communications. Get in touch at 0427 575 955 if you've got a story idea for me.
Based at Blackall, CW Qld, where I've raised a family, run Merino sheep and beef cattle, and helped develop a region - its history, tourism, education and communications. Get in touch at 0427 575 955 if you've got a story idea for me.
