A rare white killer whale was seen off the coast of Southeast Alaska.
Researchers on an 80-foot charter boat Aug. 7 caught the "once-in-a-lifetime" event -- a white killer whale -- as they noticed a pod of orcas swimming and one of them appeared to be glowing.
“There was a collective gasp from everybody on the bow,” University of Alaska Fairbanks graduate student and first mate Stephanie Hayes said in a release. “There have only been about eight white killer whales ever recorded in the world.”
Killer whales are typically black and white. This particular whale has a condition called leucism, a genetic condition which causes a lack of vibrancy in its pigmentation. Leucism is different from albinism.
Hayes further determined that this orca has been documented before. TI'uk, which is an indigenous word for moon, is a two-year-old calf who was tagged by British Columbia researchers.
The pod has been seen as far south as Oregon and as far north as Haines.
“Hopefully, we can monitor it and find out what happens in the life of a white killer whale,” Hayes said.