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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A "whale" of a detour this comment thread has taken. I,ll make the first appropriate response. Wow, this is cool. who ever spotted this was pretty lucky to see one of mother natures rare moments. I think the sea could be the next frontier to explore, no rockets required.
It be Moby Dick... Thar she blows!
Seriously, I hope to God they don't try to capture this whale for a Marine Show because of the unusual coloring. Iceberg is a great name for him. Kudos to the person that thought it up.
Beautiful!
Looks like a fiberglass fin to me.
Maybe photoshoped.
You'd think lacking the orca coloring would make them less likely to survive, but maybe this one is helped because he's in beluga territory. A white pinniped would not be unusual, or a target, to other animals.
Senior moment: I meant cetacean
Beautiful; right outside of Russia too
What a gorgeous being and I love his name! Iceberg is part of the Mother.
There is nothing pure about killer whales. They play torment dolphins, eat baby humpback whales, and play frisbee with sunfish. They are mean.
Iceberg! What a gorgeous being! I love his name and am thrilled to see him part of the pod. Iceberg is part of the Mother and should be revered for his uniqueness. Rock on, Iceberg.
ha ha i photo-shopped it suckers!
Beautiful!
I can't wait to see more pictures.
Leave it to a "Yank" news organisation to still be calling Orcas "killer whales".
That's an Ebony and Ivory Orcas, even animals are trying to get along. But remember, these are KILLER Whales, no matter the color of their blubber. I bet you Seaworld is salivating to the thought of catching this Albino Killer Whale.
"All that is pure", really??? If this genetic anomaly is a sign of all things "pure", then autism makes a human just as "pure".