Some researchers believe eye color can also distinguish the two conditions, because most albino whales have red eyes, but this is not a guarantee, Gero said. Therefore, whales with leucism can be totally white or have white patches.ĭespite potential differences in coloration between albinism and leucism, "there is no way to conclusively tell them apart without genetics," Gero said. Leucism is similar but affects melanin production in individual pigment cells, which can cause total or partial color loss. Albinism is a genetic condition in which an animal cannot produce melanin, a pigment that gives color to skin and hair, resulting in a total lack of color in the affected individual. White whales have either albinism or leucism. (Image credit: Gojiraiwa Kanko Whale Watching) (opens in new tab) And in July, whale watchers in Japan spotted a pair of white killer whales, which were most likely albinos, Live Science reported at the time.Ī pair of white killer whales swim side by side off the coast of Rausu in Hokkaido, Japan on July 24. An albino humpback whale named Migaloo has been sighted frequently in Australian waters since 1991, according to the Pacific Whale Foundation (opens in new tab). There are also occasional sightings of white whales among other species (other than belugas, whose normal color is white). It is possible that the one sighted in Jamaica is the same one from Dominica, but that is unclear, he added. However, there have also been sightings in Dominica (in the Caribbean) and the Azores (in the Atlantic) in recent years, Gero said. The last documented sighting of a white sperm whale occurred in 2015 off the Italian island of Sardinia. "So even if there were many white sperm whales, we just wouldn't see them very often." "It's easy for a whale to hide, even one that is as long as a school bus," Gero said. (Image credit: Shutterstock) (opens in new tab) The fluke of a sperm whale as it dives deep into the ocean. Their whiteness is the result of either albinism or leucism both conditions impact the whales' ability to produce the pigment melanin, which is responsible for their normal gray color. Although Moby Dick was fictional, white sperm whales are real. The book is narrated by the sailor Ishmael, who famously said, "It was the whiteness of the whale that appalled me," when referring to its paleness. In Herman Melville's famous novel, Moby Dick is a monstrous white sperm whale hunted by the vengeful Captain Ahab, who lost his leg to the toothed whale. After confirming with experts that the whale was indeed a sperm whale, SOS Dolfijn shared the video on the organization's Facebook page. He sent the video to his sailing partner, Annemarie van den Berg, director of the whale conservation charity SOS Dolfijn in the Netherlands. Leo van Toly recorded a short video (opens in new tab) highlighting a brief look at the white sperm whale near the water's surface. Sailors aboard the Dutch oil tanker Coral EnergICE glimpsed the ghostly cetacean on Nov.
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