The incredible sighting of a all-white whale off the coast of Australia is making whales on social media with wildlife enthusiasts speculating it might be the baby of the famous and so loved Migaloo.
The rare occurrence was caught on camera by the 16-year-old Brayden Blake at Fingal Head, Coolangatta, with the magical creatures swimming around 1,600ft offshore. The teen, just as many other people who have seen his footage, initially thought the white whale is Migaloo, but as it turns out this is another white whale. And there’s a big chance for it to be Migaloo’s baby!
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“This is the first time that I’ve been able to say that the white whale I’m looking at could be a white whale other than Migaloo,” marine expert Dr Wally Franklin told 9NEWS. “The timing of the sighting is consistent with it being a younger whale, because it’s still very early in the season…this might be a second white whale, which in itself would be quite incredible.”
Here’s a footage of Migaloo, spotted off the coast of Australia in 2017!
The legendary Migaloo – whose name means ‘white fella’ in the Australian indigenous term – was initially spotted in 1991 and she was known as the only white whale to live off the coast of Australia. According to Dr Franklin, there are over 40,000 whales that live in these waters.
“She[Migaloo] is the only albino whale in the eastern Australian group, which now numbers over 40,000 whales and if it’s a younger white whale, that’d only be two out of 40,000,” the marine expert said.
The “incredibly rare occurrence,” was accidentally caught on video by Brayden Blake, while he was observing sharks using a drone!
“I was out for a paddle and a surf with my friend out the back … and heard this weird singing or screaming noise,” the 16-year-old said. “My heart was racing … it was just really, really cool. I was so lucky to see it.”
You can watch the rare moment here: