An extremely rare black barn owl has been born in captivity.
Sable is a two year old barn owl that was born with a rare genetic condition which makes her the exact opposite of an albino. Instead of a lack of pigmentation the melanism causes her feathers to be coloured jet black rather than the usual white of most barn owls.
In the wild these mutants are usually killed by their mothers, but because Sable was born in captivity she was saved by her keepers and is now one of just three barn owls in Britain living with this extraordinary and cool condition.
Unlike albino creatures Sable is actually stronger than a common barn owl, but unfortunately experts say she would be set on by other owls if released into the wild and eventually killed.
Harry Potter would be a lot cooler if he had one of these for his familiar.
