Completely white humpback whale emerges with mother

A rare white humpback whale calf swims with its mother at Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia.

All-white humpback whale emerges with mother — A white humpback whale swims off the coast of Western Australia. Photo: *Brooke Pyke*

Photographer Brooke Pyke captured the image of a mother and calf humpback whale about 2km off the coast of Western Australia on July 11. "We had heard some rumors from the boats ahead of us that there was a small white humpback whale. We were heading in the direction they had seen it when suddenly this huge mother humpback whale came to the surface to breathe, right next to her bright white calf," Pyke said. She said everyone on board was amazed by the special moment.

John Totterdell, a scientist at the Centre for Whale Research, has been studying whales along the coast of Western Australia for more than 30 years. He and his colleagues were out on a survey on July 11 and also saw white humpbacks.

"I don't think anyone has ever seen a completely white whale in Ningaloo, or maybe they have but it's very rare. We've been studying humpback whales here for almost 20 years, and we've seen some that are white on the upper body and half of their body. But I've never seen one that's 100% white like this," Totterdell said.

Experts are not sure whether humpback whale calves are albinos. Leucism is a condition in which an animal lacks pigment, resulting in pale or white fur, while albino is when the animal is completely white and has pink or red eyes.

Completely white humpback whale emerges with mother — Drone captures white humpback whale swimming with mother off Western Australia. Video: *Newsflare*

The Ningaloo Coast is an important stopover for many mother-calf humpback whales on their annual migration from Antarctica. Totterdell is part of the Humpback Whale Sentinel biopsy team, helping to gather information about conditions further south.

"By sampling whale blubber, we can learn what they ate during the previous feeding season in Antarctica, which gives us an idea of the health of the sea ice ecosystem. At least six Southern Hemisphere populations have been sampled during the breeding season in tropical waters off Africa, South America and Australia," Totterdell said.

Humpback whales also play a key role in bringing nutrients from Antarctica to nourish coral reefs in Western Australia, Totterdell said. “A lot of calves are killed by killer whales and a lot of the carcasses end up on the reef. So there’s a lot of nutrient exchange going on,” he explained.

Thu Thao (According to ABC News )

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