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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Uh ohh....I said a "bad word", so I bet my previous comment won't be printed. Okay, let's put it another way:
I really don't understand what all the excitement is about. I mean, sure albino whales are rare, but the only one that I know of who was as obsessed with one was Captain Ahab. And look what happened to him.
Don't tell Ahab!
Hope there are more white whales.:-) I love whales whether white or blue.
Poor creature, some trophy hunter will probably go out and harpon him...
When I see white animals I wonder why is it such a surprise to people there are so many version of colors patterns eventually there going. To be a white what's the surprise.
Stupid article.... the article says "In many ways, Iceberg is a symbol of all that is pure, wild and extraordinarily exciting about what is out there in the ocean"....
How about this....it's just a random genetic mutation.
Thank you for your sensible observation. This is such a nonsense story.
Looks Photoshopped to me.
Granted it is not a Sperm whale, but not one specific reference to Moby Dick in the article. I wonder if the ship, the Pequod, has been spotted in the area with this sighting of the great white whale.
It is just another genetic adaptation that the next ice age is coming, because of Global Warming. Everything will be covered with white snow and the whale will be able to stalk its pray better
Would be nice if people could just appreciate the beauty of the picture and not criticize the article.......
Usually when they are black and white it's hard to see their features like their eyes. Wish someone could get an underwater shot. He must be gorgeous.
I agree, I would love to see the entire body.
I would disagree with Hoyt on what Iceberg represents.
Iceberg represents that by some unlikely chance, an extremely rare recessive genetic anomaly was able to mature to adulthood.
I would call that a remarkable sight and a display of the variety of possibilities of life, not a representation of all that is pure.
Well said.
looks like a fake photo made by adobe photoshop
no doubt by the same people who faked the moon landing photo I think your onto something keep digging the truth will come out
Maulder, where are you?
I agree. Look @ the angle of the large black dorsal fin next to the white one – it's angle suggest it is halfway through the albino.
You can't tell depth on a photo, the whale behind it could be another 10-20 behind it and you have no idea. If this was a telephoto lens it compresses everything so distances look closer together. Furthermore you can clearly see the white body near the top of the water to the left of the fin.
I don't believe that picture for a second
I wonder if Iceberg's Father gave Iceberg's Mother dirty looks when he was birthed – "You were messing with that Beluga whale behind my dorsal fin, weren't your?!!"