A sighting of Migaloo, Australia's celebrated white humpback whale, was made June 23 off the coast of Sydney. Until September of 2011, Migaloo, which translates to "white fella" in the language of Australian Aboriginals, was the only known white humpback whale in the world. It was then that footage surfaced of a white baby humpback whale (calf). The calf is unofficially named M.J., for Migaloo Junior, according to Australia's White Whale Research Centre. Another all-white whale was documented in Norwegian waters, so Migaloo and M.J. may be rare, but they're not alone.
Although
the video of the news report included here --as well as a report from
CNN -- calls Migaloo an albino, that fact actually seems to be in
dispute. The While Whale Research Centre and the Pacific Whale
Foundation don't refer to Migaloo or MJ as albinos, so I've stayed
consistent with their terminology.
To learn more about Migaloo and track future sightings, visit the website of the White Whale Research Centre.
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