Is there such a thing as a “white killer whale”? Is it true that they exist? Yes, they do exist, but they are quite uncommon. Only a few white killer whales (orcas) have been documented throughout history, and experts believe there are only about five left in the world today.
Of course, with that level of rarity, catching a sight of one is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
On August 7, a party of whale watchers onboard Alaska Sea Adventures’ Northern Song off the coast of the Kuiu and Kupreanof Islands, Alaska, sighted a youngster dubbed Tl’uk (which is the Coast Salish word for “moon”). The two-year-old male was swimming with a couple of adult killer whales at the time, and his display was quite a spectacle.
Stéphanie Hayes, a marine biologist at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, photographed and shared the magical event.
According to Dennis Rogers, proprietor of Sea Adventures, the orca’s light tint made it stand out in the ocean.
“When (killer whales) dive underwater, they generally vanish and are difficult to track,” he added. “However, with a white one under the water, you could see him easily ten feet beneath the surface, this gigantic white form going along there.”
“A once in a lifetime sighting,” Hayes posted on Instagram, “killer whales with leucism are exceedingly rare and even experts never expect to witness one in their career.” “Tl’uk looks to be a healthy member of his pod, and we welcome him to Alaska for the first time.”
Even though it seems to be albino, this little creature is really leucistic. Albinism produces a full loss of pigmentation, whereas leucism causes just a partial loss.
“Is it albino? Why is it white?” “The white killer whale is leucistic, not albino,” Hayes said in another post. “If you look attentively, you can see the outlines of killer whale color patterns, however they are quite faint!”
