White Orca, Rare Albino Killer Whale

White Orca, Rare Albino Killer Whale

white orca whale

 

In what is believed to be an unprecenedented occurence, scientists doing research off the coast of Russia believe that they have spotted the rare white orca or killer whale. There has never been a recorded sighting of a full grown adult white orca in the history of the world; since the are believed to die very young. White orcas are albino, which is a genetic anomaly and therefore leaves them with weakened immune systems. While there have been numerous sightings of baby white orcas, these specimens aren’t believed to ever reach maturity. In order to determine whether the specimen, who they’ve nicknamed “Iceberg”, is actually albino, scientists hope to photograph his eyes and find out if they’re the tell-tale color, pink. If Iceberg proves to be the real deal, his apparent age of 16 (they’re gathered that from the size of his dorsal fin) will surely make him the oldest specimen that anyone has ever come in contact with. He seems to fit right in with a nice-looking group of orcas. We wonder if he has ever made friends with any all-white beluga whales.

 

big albino orca whale