In animals, the condition is evident in most species, and leaves those afflicted weak and easy prey. Albino animals left on their own rarely survive for long in their natural environment. Red birthmarks, or capillary hemangioma , are related to vascular skin changes. Such blemishes are more commonly referred to as salmon patches, stork bites, strawberry marks, or the more serious port wine stain . These reddish marks are caused by an over-abundance of blood vessels at the site where they appear, either before or after birth.
Strawberry birthmarks seem to be the most common, especially among women.
They grow very quickly, then stay the same size until they eventually disappear on their own, usually by the time the child has reached 9-10 years of age. Port wine stains are by far the most noticeable and disfiguring of any birthmarks and are always evident at birth. They are in most cases flat against the rest of the skin and composed of dilated blood vessels. The coloring ranges from pale pink to very dark purple. The face, neck and top of the shoulder or chest are the most common locations, although port wine stain birthmarks have been known to afflict much larger portions of the body.