3 Years After This White Killer Whale Vanished, A Scientist Made An Incredibly Rare Sighting

three years after this white killer whale vanished a scientist made an incredibly rare sighting when the cream-colored fin was first seen breaking the ocean waves in 2012 the research scientists could not credit it could that really be an adult white killer whale contrasting vividly with the blue water off the coast of Russia no one had ever spotted a mature specimen with that idiosyncratic coloring before it was a wonderful moment to witness but three years on from the sighting and the eager academic had not set eyes on the fantastical creature since chasing the great white whale has been a metaphor for obsessive ambition ever since Herman Melville published Moby Dick in 1851 but for some reason it's a very literal rather than literary pursuit as with 67 year-old whale expert Eric Hoyt however whereas the creature who starred in Moby Dick was a sperm whale the Akron Ohio scientific researcher and conservationist main interest is the Orca or killer whale point is actually the co-founder of the Far East Russia Orca project which studies the orc in Essaouira species in the oceans around the largest nation on earth until the project's initial mission in 1999 russia's orcas were largely overlooked by the global scientific community however thanks to the efforts of Hoyts initiative humanity now has a better understanding of the great killer and it was during his work with the Far East Russia Orca project in 2012 then white spotted something super rare a male white whale orcas usually post a striking black and white color scheme so it's no surprise that a pure white specimen made the scientists sit up and pay attention point was fortunate enough to witness the white male Orca swimming near the camp Concha Peninsula on the extreme northeastern edge of the Russia landmass furthermore it became apparent that he was the first person on record to see such a whale white wittily named the great white creature iceberg and the researcher was greatly excited about the discovery for two main reasons obviously the first thing that struck height was icebergs distinctive coloration according to an article on Hoyts discovery in the UK newspaper The Daily Telegraph the chances of an orca being born white is 1 in 10,000 but the specific cause of this whales pale complexion is still unclear it's not most likely that iceberg is either an albino or leucistic indeed there are subtle differences between the two hereditary mutations albinos have a lack of the dark pigment melanin in their skin while leucistic animals are missing several different pigmentations and while icebergs pale huge Hulk is impressive under the circumstances the whales age is also remarkable orcas enter adulthood when they reach the age of 15 and judging by the condition of his dorsal fin iceberg was thought to be 18 when white first sighted him in 2012 this is significant because while white killer whales are rare ones who have reached maturity aren't rarer still it seems that for whatever reason most of these mutated orcas do not live past their childhood years indeed iceberg is the only known adult example currently on the planet in April 2012 Hoyt spoke to the BBC about his then recent discovery we've seen another two white orcas in Russia the scientist explained but they've been young whereas this is the first time we've seen a mature adult nevertheless poit also observed that icebergs color did not seem to affect his social standing among the other orcas and it seemed to be a family affair the Far East Russia Orca project co-director continued iceberg seems to be fully socialized we know that these fish eating orcas stay with their mothers for life and as far as we can see he's right behind his mother with presumably his brothers next to him in fact orcas often live in family units called pods and hunt collectively and efficiently together in addition to their killer reputation this behavior has earned the species the nickname Wolves of the sea and while point mentioned how orcas eat fish they do not constitute the entirety of the whales diet they actually feed on a wide range of animals it turns out that orcas are extremely fond of snacking on cephalopods including squid and octopus however the whales pod pack-hunting style allows them to target much larger food sources not only to orcas prey on mighty marine mammals such as sperm whales but not even the enormous blue whale is safe from these roving super predators and it's not just kwatak creatures who should fear orcas killer whales also hunt animals from beyond their watery confines researchers have reported observing them attacking deer caught swimming between islands in the whales territorial waters orcas are considered cunning apex predators and thus fully deserving of their killer crown nevertheless orcas should not be thought of as merely mindless murderers indeed they've been known to employ highly intelligent tactics to overwhelm their desire to pray in 2005 a captive Orca held at Marineland in Niagara Falls Canada was seen luring tasty seagulls out of the sky by cleverly using his vomit as bait professor Michael Noonan and animal behaviorist at Canisius College in Buffalo New York watched as the killer brought up partially digested fish on the surface of the water in his enclosure and then made quick work of the opportunistic scavengers who came to investigate interestingly four of the orcas fellow inmates copied the Predators ploy when they saw how successful it was after the first encounter off the camp Concha Peninsula Hoyt and his team kept an eye on iceberg until they lost track of him later in 2012 the white adult male remained below the metaphorical radar for three years until August of 2015 the Far East Russia Orca project personnel were pleased to report ice berg had resurfaced seemingly safe and sound moreover icebergs seemed to be enjoying life just as much as when white had first spotted him three years earlier furthermore it was also revealed that researchers had spotted even more white killer whales in the Russian waters a spokesman for the organization elaborated on the discoveries at a 2016 Facebook update alongside a possible explanation for the pale orcas presence in a post on the official Far East Russia Orca project page the representative wrote we've now recorded at least five and maybe up to eight different white killer whales Russian waters appear to be the world's number one area for white killer whales who may be leucistic or chew albinos it's a dubious honor the academics update continued as reported in our paper albinism probably indicates in greeting of small populations the publication in question was white killer whales or Kenneth Orca in the western North Pacific this was a 2016 scientific survey which featured iceberg and similar pale pigment and members of his species however it transpired that the white or mutations are by no means a recent occurrence indeed in the comments section below its update the Far East Russia Orca project spokesperson explained that it was probably something that has occurred as a result of inbreeding over centuries but regardless of the reason behind the ghostly presence the project's members were spotting more and more white orcas and their number included a female whale who researchers codenamed co2 10 subsequently these Far East Russia Orca project page stated that co2 10 was also known as mama tonya in tribute to the group's photographic identification specialist tatiana EV Kovich it was a fitting name as apparently the russian team member has very distinctive blonde hair but it seemed that mama tanya was a bit like iceberg in another respect she proved to be similarly shy in June 2018 a project representative took to Facebook again to report co2 10 was encountered for the first time in 2009 and recited several times in 2010 but then disappeared for a long time we're happy to greet her again please don't forget to share this video with your 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Channel: Watchjojo Animals

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Keywords: watchjojo Animals, killer whale, albino killer whale, orca vs great white, killer whale vs great white, killer whales, orca whales, white killer whale, orcas, albino cyclops shark, albino whale, white whale, white orca, albino orca, beluga whale, keiko the whale, biggest orca in the world, great white shark vs killer whale, shark vs killer whale, whale, killer whale documentary, biggest killer whale in the world, cyclops shark, killer whales vs great white sharks, whales

Id: OEc8-wRrnNg

Length: 8min 21sec (501 seconds)

Published: Wed Jul 25 2018