Seeing a white orca is a rarity, a group of people boating along the southeastern coast of Alaska filmed the event
Seeing a white whale is a real rarity, so a group of people in a boat along the southeastern coast of Alaska did not hesitate to film the event: the animal swimming underwater creates a beautiful glow.
Stephanie Hayes of the University of Alaska Fairbanks who specializes in marine animals spotted the white killer whale. The biologist, as explained in a press release, was aboard the Northern Song ship led by Captain Dennis Rogers, who for more than forty years has accompanied tourists and researchers in Alaskan waters, but who admits that for him too, it was the first sighting.
According to the biologist Hayes, eight specimens of white orca are known and therefore seeing one is an incredible phenomenon. But why is this orca white? In fact, she has leucism, a genetic condition that dyes her skin white different from albinism. Specifically, this specimen is the small Tl'uk (in the language of the Salish peoples of the Pacific Northwest means Moon), a two-year-old male who swam with four other adult cetaceans.
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The pod led by a female protected the baby which, as we said, is an Orcinus orca with leucism, a genetic condition linked to the absence of an enzyme (tyrosinase) that produces melanin, the pigment that gives color. While seeing this white orca swim in the sea is a beautiful sight, biologists are concerned about its future.
When Tl'uk leaves its original pod, being white it could have difficulty hunting seals, because it is not able to camouflage it well and it is not even certain that it will be accepted by other groups. However, the find has thrilled the scientific community and the hope is that this wonderful orca can create a new group and survive for a long time.
Fonte: Worldtravelstephanie/Instagram
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