Nature
PUBLISHED
A rare albino humpback whale has been spotted off the Golden Coast of Australia, much to the excitement of animal lovers around the world. We know of only a handful of these magnificent animals in the entire world.
The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content.Initially rumors abounded that the white whale was the famous Migaloo, an albino whale who was first spotted in 1991 and was the only known albino humpback until 2011, when an all-white calf was also spotted. Migaloo has been spotted all around Australia and even has his own Twitter page set up to track his movements and migration.
Migaloo giving us a rare glimpse. The White Whale Research Centre.
The bad news is it's not Migaloo, according to White Whale Research Centre founder Oskar Peterson, who told Australian Associated Press that it couldn't be the fully-grown adult as he was too small and white – Migaloo is said to have yellow spots and shading. But the good news is that it means there is a possibility that it's the baby calf previously sighted in 2011, who is potentially Migaloo's offspring.
Migaloo clearly shows yellow patches and shading as he breaks the surface next to a humpback with “normal” coloring. J.Russell/Whalewatchingsydney.com.au.
Initially spotted by 7 News Queensland, whale watchers and media alike flooded the area to catch a rare glimpse of this new and unknown magnificent creature.
[H/T Mashable]
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