Rare white whale spotted off New Zealand
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E-mail China.org.cn, July 6, 2015
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The white humpback whale with a normal black humpback whale [Photo/DOC] |
A rare white humpback whale spotted in Cook Strait yesterday by researchers from New Zealand's Department of Conservation is thought to be "Migaloo", a white humpback usually seen off Australia.
The white humpback whale was seen with another normal black humpback during the Cook Strait Whale Survey which is in the last week of its 12th annual four-week count of whales passing through Cook Strait.
The two whales were first spotted by Ted Perano, one of six ex-whalers on the survey team, but it was only when approached by boat that researchers were surprised to find one was white.
"I thought, wow that whale is white, that is amazing!" said John Gibbs, skipper of the boat.
"This is so unique. I have never seen anything like this in New Zealand," was the reaction of marine mammal scientist Carlos Olavarria, who was also on the boat.
Survey leader, Nadine Bott, said distinctive features on the whale like those on Migaloo strongly indicated it was the same whale. They include the dorsal fin's distinctive shape and also distinctive spiny protuberances behind the dorsal fin. Animals with these are commonly called "razor backs".
Migaloo - Aboriginal for "white fella" – was first seen off eastern Australia in 1991 and has been seen there almost every year since.
A skin sample for DNA analysis was taken from the white whale yesterday with a biopsy dart and will be compared with Migaloo's DNA to confirm whether it is definitely the same whale. The analysis will also identify whether the whale is albino or whether its whiteness is due to colour variation.
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