Science voyage finds white whale
A rare all-white killer whale has been spotted by ocean scientists off Alaska.
It was discovered by the Oscar Dyson, a US research ship conducting an acoustic survey in the Aleutian Islands.
It had been spotted once in the Aleutians years ago but had eluded researchers since, even though they had seen many of the more classic black and white whales over the years.
Further observation showed that while the whale’s saddle area was white, other parts of its body had a subtle yellowish or brownish colour.
It likely is not a true albino given the coloration, said John Durban, a research biologist in Seattle.
He said white killer whales have been spotted elsewhere in the area twice before: in 1993 in the northern Bering Sea around St Lawrence Island and in 2001 near Adak in the central Aleutians. There have also been sightings along the Russian coast.
While Alaska researchers have documented thousands of black and white killer whales in the Bering Sea and the Aleutians during summer surveys, this was something new and exciting, Mr Durban said.
The scientists observed several pods over a two-week period. The white whale was in a family group of 12 on a day when the seas were fairly rough. It was spotted about two miles off Kanaga Volcano on Feb. 23.
The ship stayed with the whale for about 30 minutes.
The whale appeared to be a healthy, adult male about 25 to 30 feet long.
