A world - noted white heavyweight ( no , not Moby Dick ) has been spot once again off the sea-coast of Australia .
Migaloo , an albino male person humpback whale giant , was recently find out by anOcean Free and Ocean Freedomtour group when they were give from Upolu Reef .
" The snowy glow come towards you , it ’s unspeakable . There ’s nothing like that , " Paul Faherty , the skipper of the boat , told7 News .
Migaloo was first photographed near Byron Bay in New South Wales in June 1991 . He was first seen through a scope from around 5 kilometre ( 3.1 miles ) aside . However , because he was so remote and blurred , they could n’t in reality confirm he was all white until a later sighting .
On this first sighting of Migaloo , researchers believe he was around eight to 10 year old , meaning he is now at least 26 years old . For an fauna in the wild with albinism , that ’s pretty telling . Their deficiency of pigment brings all kinds of wellness concerns and disadvantage , such as short eyesight and a lack of camouflage . That does n’t seem to have stopped Migaloo , however .
scientist were initially conservative to pronounce Migaloo as an albino because his heart are brownish , rather than the distinctive pink . This evoke he could , in fact , have leucism . However , according to thePacific Whale Foundation(PWF ) , astudy of his DNAby scientists at the Australian Marine Mammal Centre witness that he was indeed an albino . It also confirmed that he was a male .
Since his first sighting , there have been at least 50 study of the whale , with some only anecdotal , although a large portion of the sightings have been officially confirmed . There was even one just a few hebdomad ago in July .
hunchback heavyweight ( Megaptera novaeangliae ) can grow up to 16 meters ( 52 feet ) in duration . Despite their monstrous size , the dieting of these knobbly - headed whales consists mostly of krill and pocket-size Pisces .
The PWF say that Migaloo is not the only all - white humpback surf the seven sea . A newborn all white male calf was make out a few year ago in Queensland , Australia . This calf ’s “ official ” name is Chalkie , although he tends to go by the nickname Migaloo Junior .
