By Saloni Mathur
BREATH-TAKING images capture one of the only three or four known albino Humpback Whales swimming with its mum off the coast of Vava’u, Tonga, in the Pacific.
The South Pacific archipelago of Vava’u is home to one of the largest Humpback gatherings annually from July to October.
A group of photographers led by Simon Lorenz swam with the mother and her four-week-old albino baby.
He snapped these images two miles off the coast, where the water temperature was 25 degrees Celcius.
The mother was resting 50 feet below the surface while the baby moved up and down every few minutes to inspect and play with the group.
On average, a humpback whale newborn weighs 3306 pounds or 1.5 tonnes, and an adult female humpback weighs over 77K pounds or 35 tonnes.
The most famous albino humpback was the male Miganoo, who was spotted off the waters of Australia in 1991 until 2020.
Although rare, albinism has been reported in 20 different whale and dolphin species, including humpback whales, bottlenose dolphins, sperm whales, and pilot whales.
In some cases, pigment may be reduced but not fully blocked.
Humpback whales are known for their exceedingly playful and endlessly curious traits.
They’ll often come right up to boats for a closer look.
“I have never experienced anything like it,” said Simon,
“The whale’s features could be observed much clearer than on any other whale, as normally whales have a mottled appearance.”
“This camouflage is important when the mother and baby travel south to Antarctica, where humpbacks spend the summer feeding.
“It was so bright and reflected the sunlight like a mirror. It will be hard to avoid predators on the way South.
“About 30-40% of humpback babies do not survive their journey to their feeding grounds.
“The chances for this Albino are much lower. Adult Albino whales are very rare; one individual called Migaloo was the star attraction on the Australian East Coast every year until it recently stopped visiting.
“I do hope it will make it. I have never seen anything prettier in my life.”
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