Home | Science | Nature | Rare Albino Whale Spotted Off The Coast of Mexico

Rare Albino Whale Spotted Off The Coast of Mexico

574 Views

By Reid Schram(Translation : Yuyu Chiang)

June 14, 2016
2:44 pm
Los Angeles, CA

A gray whale affected by albinism was spotted on the Mexican Pacific coast in the state of Baja California Sur. “Gallon of milk”, as the specialists of the National Commission of Natural Protected Areas (CONANP) called it, was first seen in 2008. It appeared in the area known as the “Island of wire” with a gray calf of the same species, so it is assumed that it recently became a mother. The sighting was part of the biological monitoring performed by the crew at El Vizcaino Biosphere Reserve, who for 20 years have documented the annual migration of gray whales off the Mexican Pacific coast. Albinism is a congenital anomaly consisting in total or partial absence of the lower skin’s pigment cells, manifested in the whitish color of the

A gray whale affected by albinism was spotted on the Mexican Pacific coast in the state of Baja California Sur.

“Gallon of milk”, as the specialists of the National Commission of Natural Protected Areas (CONANP) called it, was first seen in 2008. It appeared in the area known as the “Island of wire” with a gray calf of the same species, so it is assumed that it recently became a mother.

The sighting was part of the biological monitoring performed by the crew at El Vizcaino Biosphere Reserve, who for 20 years have documented the annual migration of gray whales off the Mexican Pacific coast.

Albinism is a congenital anomaly consisting in total or partial absence of the lower skin’s pigment cells, manifested in the whitish color of the skin and hair, and sometimes by the reddish color of the iris. Although this condition is relatively common to different groups of mammals, such as birds and reptiles, there have been few records of marine mammals with albinism.

Also Read:
Scientists Discover Life That Can Survive Without Light or Oxygen
Sea sponge could be the first animal on Earth