Incredibly Rare White Orca Spotted With His Family After Years Of Not Being Seen

The last time Iceberg the orca was spotted by Russian scientists had been 5 year earlier. The rare, white orca was a welcome sight for the researchers with the Far East Russia Orca Project (FEROP), who had come to fear the worst for the white whale.

But there he was, happily feeding with his pod.

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Iceberg was first spotted near the North Pacific’s Commander Islands back in 2010. Back then, it was the first time scientists had seen a fully-grown, all-white orca. They spotted him again in August of 2015 after a long gap of no sightings.

Iceberg, now estimated to be 22 years old, reappeared near the Kuril Islands and seems to be one of a small number of white killer whales.

FEROP estimates that there are between 5 to 8 white orcas on the entire planet. “Russian waters appear to be the world’s number one area for white killer whales who may be leucistic (patchy white pigmentation) or true albinos,” FEROP writes on Facebook. “It’s a dubious honor. As reported in our paper, albinism probably indicates inbreeding of small populations.”

Orca numbers globally are dwindling due to increased stresses caused by ocean pollution and destruction of their food sources. The highly mobile predator travel in small pods, which means that they may be susceptible to inbreeding.

Here is a video from another white orca sighting by FEROP of a young juvenile in 2014. They were surveying the southeastern coast of Kamchatka as part of a humpback whale project when they spotted this whale in the fog. FEROP’s research on cetaceans is helping with conservation efforts to protect critical marine habitats for whales in the Russian Pacific.

What remarkable animals! Share Iceberg and the work FEROP is doing with your family and friends!