Rare White Killer Whale Spotted off the Coast of Newport Beach Was Discovered To Carry a Rare Genetic Condition

One of the much-awaited entertainment activities in marine parks and seaquariums is dolphin shows, where orcas present their intelligent skills and tricks. Although anyone can visit the orcas anytime in marine parks, encountering them in their natural habitat still gives a different form of excitement.

This is what whale watchers experienced when they spotted a rare white killer whale off the shore of Newport Beach in California.

An Encounter With the Ghost Orca

Wildlife filmmaker Justin Crapps had been sailing for almost 60 miles with his crew mates when they saw a rare white killer whale, also known as a ghost orca. The three-year-old orca named Frosty was seen swimming with the other whales in a group of individuals known as pods. The footage was caught using a DJI drone which followed the orcas as they swam past the crew's boat.

"Rare encounters like this don't happen every day," Crapps said. "I'd do it again if I could. I honestly felt like a National Geographic explorer. I'm always out filming wild stuff, but this was by far the wildest, most adventurous encounter I've ever been on," he added. As a wildlife filmmaker for more than seven years, Crapps hopes his encounter with the ghost orca will eventually inspire others to care for the environment.

Frosty and his pod belong to a group of transient killer whales. According to National Geographic, killer whales are the largest member of the dolphin family and are considered the most powerful predators in the world. As social mammals, they hunt in pods of up to 40 individuals who can swim as far as 40 miles a day while looking for food.

While swimming with the other orca in the pod, Frosty was observed to have an unusual coloring of vibrant white color. This condition is known as leucism, caused by a rare genetic mutation resulting in the absence of biological pigments.

In an interview with Newsweek, Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC) head of communications Danny Groves said that white orcas would not seem to be outcasts as some people might believe. He also added that white orcas are completely accepted in their pods despite their unusual color.

Rare Killer Whales Made More Uncommon With Genetic Mutation

Killer whales are not commonly seen in southern California, and this sighting is made more unique as Frosty is believed to carry a rare genetic condition known as leucism.

Leucism is an extremely rare condition in the orca. There could be several reasons why it occurs among them, but a large factor is attributed to genetics. It is also important to take note that leucism is different from albinism which refers to an almost complete lack of skin pigment. In leucism, only a partial loss of pigment is experienced due to development malfunction in skin cells.

WDC research fellow Erich Hoyt previously told Live Science that while albinism results from inbreeding, leucism is brought by a random genetic mutation in orcas, so it does not seem to affect their health. Eye color can be used to differentiate albinism and leucism. Albino orcas have pink eyes, while those with leucism have dark eyes.

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