White Orca Sighting Off Aleutian Islands

A whale which had been considered a myth has been spotted off Alaska.

Excerpt AP report "White killer whale spotted off Alaska ":

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.

Fearnbach said the white whale stood out.

"When you first looked at it, it was very white," she said Thursday.

Further observation showed that while the whale's saddle area was white, other parts of its body had a subtle yellowish or brownish color.

It likely is not a true albino given the coloration, said John Durban, a research biologist at NOAA's Alaska Fisheries Science Center in Seattle. That's probably a good thing — true albinos usually don't live long and can have health problems.

Durban 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.

Read rest at source. 

Hmmm.  How long until some fat cat decides he wants White Orca Sushi.  The the Japanese fleet will have to change the location of their hunt to the northern waters.  They've already deprived their wealthy supporters of Humpback Sushi by agreeing not to kill any this year.   You can't fail to get rich folks something new every so often or they stop throwing money your way.

tags: orca  killer whales  whales  aleutian islands  

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