A rare white Humpback Whale has been spotted off the coast of Queensland (Australia) on Monday — whale watchers are hoping it is the famous whale Migaloo
Migaloo, a name giving by Aboriginal Elders that means “white fella,” is one member of a rare group of white whales that have been spotted swimming in Australian waters
White Whale (Migaloo?) at Hastings Point, NSW, Australia
We went to Hastings Point to spot whales after accidentally doing it a month earlier. We weren’t disappointed, with 7-8 whales spotted, including this white humpback. As it turns out, it does appear to be the famous Migaloo. What a privilege to see such a majestic and amazing animal making the trip north along with the many others. Go ahead 41 seconds to see zoomed in video.
Migaloo
An albino humpback whale that travels up and down the east coast of Australia became famous in the local media on account of its extremely rare, all-white appearance. Migaloo is the only known all-white humpback whale and is known to be a true albino. First sighted in 1991, and believed to be three to five years old at that time, Migaloo was named for an indigenous Australian word for “white fella”. Migaloo was shown to be male in 2004 by analysis of sloughed skin samples. Because of the intense interest, environmentalists feared he was becoming distressed by the number of boats following him each day. In response, the Queensland and New South Wales governments introduce legislation each year to create a 500 m (1600-ft) exclusion zone around the whale.
Source: Awesome footage of rare white whale off the coast of Australia, YouTube, more info Wikipedia.
