The world's only known all-white male killer whale has been spotted in the Pacific Ocean off Russia, scientists announced Monday.
The orca, dubbed "Iceberg" by the scientists, was spotted swimming with a pod of 12 others. Iceberg has a 6.5-foot-high dorsal fin and is at least 16 years old, according to a blog post by Erich Hoyt, co-director of the Far East Russia Orca Project.
Check out a photo gallery of albino creatures
The pod was spotted by scientists from universities in Moscow and St. Petersburg in the waters around the Commander Islands off the Kamchatka Peninsula. The area is part of a marine reserve.
Hoyt wrote that two other white orcas have been seen in area, but that Iceberg is the first fully grown male.
“In many ways, Iceberg is a symbol of all that is pure, wild and extraordinarily exciting about what is out there in the ocean waiting to be discovered,” Hoyt said in a statement.
Hoyt wrote that researchers will return to the waters where Iceberg was spotted this summer in hopes of finding the creature again and determining whether he is an albino or if there is some other reason for his white color.
The researchers hope the presence of Iceberg will help efforts to expand marine reserves along the Russian coast, they said in the statement.
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Too cool !
It's obviously a recessive gene that occassionally manifest as an anomaly. The true story is why do some people get so excited about these occurences in nature. Although they know what it is scientifically, a genetic mutation and anomaly, they try to give this occurence some type of esoteric meaning or heightened significance. I suppose the story is that when this usually occurs, the animal either because of it's deficient genetics or because of it's inability to blend into it's environment, doesn't make it to adulthood. Albinism happens all the time in nature. No big deal... right???
Oh why does CNN keep censoring this comment which I think is relatively sensible compared to all the other nonsense comments they allow to post?
Truly amazing, and very cool. I would indeed like to see this orca one day.
This *is*cool!
Maybe the researchers painted it white to get more marine reserves?
Let's hope we can see photographs of the entire white Orca in the future. He must be a gorgeous looking predator.
Seriously? Are you brave enough to get in the water with orcas? I'm not sure I'd be brave enough to do that. Perhaps in a cage I'd do it, but not free-diving. They eat sea lions and seals and salmon. A diver in a black suit resembles a sea lion. The water temperature isn't conducive to human survival. Survival in a drysuit is about 45 minutes. Photographing animals in the open ocean in these temperatures is problematic at best. Nat Geo may be able to do it one day. Or not.
lol...
Will
Be
Studied
Unto
Extinction!
Is there also an all Black Orca out there?
Orca are black with white patches in their normal colouration. Is this one an albino or leucistic? Scientists would love to know!
It's not racist, lol. The opposite of albino happens too, it's called melanism. Although I don't know if you could really tell if an orca is or not, because they're already mostly black.
Something tells me you are not a science major.
Makes it easier to spot when hunting! Thanks Mother Nature!
This guy is one of them...Destroyer of the earth !!!! The earth will be glad when your off it... Is a pattern emerging? Are people convinced that the oceans are now filled with dying creatures? Is it already happening – coastlines bearing the brunt of them washing ashore? How many believe that the death toll will mount until the currents become so congested with decaying fish and other oceanic wildlife that shipping lanes will be blocked? Will disease spread swiftly as the rotting corpses contaminate the sea and the air? Continue to watch what will soon wash up from the dying seas.
Arrr, thar be the white whale I was talking about...
Perfect ! thanks for that
I sincerely hope it will be left alone.
I am sure there is some selfish idiot out there chomping at the bit to hunt and kill him. I can only hope that Iceburg lives a long, healthy life, free of human stupidity and irresponsibility.
Wow, the white one is cool but the half transparent one right behind it is even more impressive.
How pretty!
Evolution at action! Darwin was right.
It's obviously a recessive gene that occassionally manifest as an anomaly. The true story is why do some people get so excited about these occurences in nature. Although they know what it is scientifically, a genetic mutation and anomaly, they try to give this occurence some type of esoteric meaning or heightened significance. I suppose the story is that when this usually occurs, the animal either because of it's deficient genetics or because of it's inability to blend into it's environment, doesn't make it to adulthood. Albinism happens all the time in nature. No big deal... right???