White Orca, Part 2

I don't know why, but I am fascinated with this story. An all white male Orca whale was spotted off the coast of Russia in the Pacific. The other day when the story came out, it wasn't clear WHEN the all white Orca was spotted. Today, the Seattle Times had an extended story about it and as it turns out, the spotting was in the summer of 2010. Scientists kept the information because they wanted to do more research before releasing the pictures. 2 years? Come on! This is exciting news that should have been released immediately. I think people are really fascinated, as I am, about these creatures.

In reading the article, scientists said an all white Orca is extremely rare. First, it's a rare occurrence when one is born. Second, it's even MORE unusual for one to make it to adulthood -- because their natural camouflage is not there and, as a young whale, they would be more apt to be eaten by a predator, like a Great White shark.

The whale is being called "Iceberg" by the scientists who saw and photographed him. It's really amazing to see. Here's a link to today's Seattle Times article.

Will Johnson

[photo by kckellner]