DodoFinance Breaking News Made For You!
ONS News•
A rare albino humpback whale has washed ashore in Australia. The dead animal may be the only albino humpback whale known to date, Migaloo, which scientists have tracked for decades.
The whale was stranded in southeastern Australia, on a deserted beach accessible only by sea. The mammal was found this morning by someone who lives nearby fishing with his canoe. “It was spectacular. The animal was completely white, like marble. It looked like a statue,” he says. Sky News.
It is not known how long the humpback whale has been on the beach. According to the man who found it, it already smelled a little, but you could not yet see that the carcass was decomposing.
Migaloo
It could therefore be Migaloo, which was first spotted off the coast of Australia in 1991. The male is the only known humpback whale with albinism (without skin pigment) and is described by the Australian media as a sea life celebrity.
Since its discovery, Migaloo has been tracked by scientists via a chip. He disappeared two years ago because he lost his chip.
-
APE
Images of Migaloo from 2006 -
APE
Migaloo was also photographed in 2009
Scientists are now trying to determine if it is indeed Migaloo based on images and genetic material. According to experts, the location where the humpback whale was found matches the well-known movement pattern. The animal appears slightly smaller than Migaloo’s likely length.
Humpback whales live an average of 45 to 50 years. If the stranded animal is indeed Migaloo, it is estimated to have been 36 years old.
Scientists who have tracked Migaloo over the decades share information about the identification of the stranded animal via the albino humpback whale’s Twitter account:
“Infuriatingly humble social media ninja. Devoted travel junkie. Student. Avid internet lover.”