Past Featured Whales
ALBINO PILOT WHALE
One of our most distinctive sightings this year (2002 field season) was of a nearly all white
pilot whale
calf! This unmistakable animal was seen on several days near Cape Cod during late July and early August. Based on its size and behavior, we think the animal was at least six months old, and it appeared to still be nursing from the mother. While there is hardly any coloration at all on this whale, there is a light grey swath on the animal's back. (
Pilot whale vocalizations
This is one of three pilot whales that we know of which are completely white, or nearly so. In 1998, a pilot whale calf was photographed on Jeffreys Ledge that appeared to be all white. This whale has been seen again on the Ledge in almost every subsequent year. Previously, in the early 1980's, a scientific note was published which described a white pilot whale adult that was seen on offshore government surveys.
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