: White Killer Whale!!
Thursday, March 6, 2008 6TH EDITION
White killer whale spotted in the Aleutians
It's compared to finding a needle in a haystack. That is finding a white killer whale in the Aleutian Islands.
That's what happened February 23rd from the Kodiak based Oscar Dyson that was on a research expedition for NOAA's Alaska Fisheries Science Center.
There have only been two previous sightings in the last 20 years.
The others came in the Aleutians and the Bering Sea off the Russian coast.
The vessel was assessing pollock fish stocks near Steller sea lion haul out sites about two miles off Kanaga Volcano at the time.
On board at the time was Holly Fearnbach, a research biologist at NOAA's National Marine Mammal Laboratory in Seattle.
John Durban is also a research biologist there which is part of the Alaska Fisheries Science Center.
He says Fearnbach was able to photograph the whales' white fin and back. Durban says the whale is not likely a true albino since it still has signs of darker pigmented areas on its body.
But because of its prominent coloring, the it serves as an indicator for movements of killer whales in the North Pacific.
Durban says scientists are working to confirm whether the one they spotted has been reported earlier. They're working with others who got photos of the previous sightings. Durban says that would give them an indicator of the movement of the whales, if it is.
The white whale is the fish eating type. They are the most frequently seen whales around the Aleutians during the summer. Durban says the winter sightings represent important evidence that they may be common year round.
------
The high resolution images are at:
http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2008/images/whiteorca1.jpg
http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2008/images/whiteorca2.jpg
http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2008/images/whiteorca3.jpg
Thursday, March 6, 2008 6TH EDITION
White killer whale spotted in the Aleutians
It's compared to finding a needle in a haystack. That is finding a white killer whale in the Aleutian Islands.
That's what happened February 23rd from the Kodiak based Oscar Dyson that was on a research expedition for NOAA's Alaska Fisheries Science Center.
There have only been two previous sightings in the last 20 years.
The others came in the Aleutians and the Bering Sea off the Russian coast.
The vessel was assessing pollock fish stocks near Steller sea lion haul out sites about two miles off Kanaga Volcano at the time.
On board at the time was Holly Fearnbach, a research biologist at NOAA's National Marine Mammal Laboratory in Seattle.
John Durban is also a research biologist there which is part of the Alaska Fisheries Science Center.
He says Fearnbach was able to photograph the whales' white fin and back. Durban says the whale is not likely a true albino since it still has signs of darker pigmented areas on its body.
But because of its prominent coloring, the it serves as an indicator for movements of killer whales in the North Pacific.
Durban says scientists are working to confirm whether the one they spotted has been reported earlier. They're working with others who got photos of the previous sightings. Durban says that would give them an indicator of the movement of the whales, if it is.
The white whale is the fish eating type. They are the most frequently seen whales around the Aleutians during the summer. Durban says the winter sightings represent important evidence that they may be common year round.
------
The high resolution images are at:
http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2008/images/whiteorca1.jpg
http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2008/images/whiteorca2.jpg
http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2008/images/whiteorca3.jpg
