The second sighting of a white whale off Queensland’s coast within weeks has ocean watchers wondering if it could be Migaloo, the elusive albino humpback who has not been seen in three years.
A tourist flying over the Great Barrier Reef filmed what appeared to be a white humpback whale swimming north, as thousands of humpbacks make their annual migration from Antartica to warmer waters to breed.
But scientists cautioned it might not be Migaloo.
“It’s clear from the footage it’s unmistakably a white whale but there is always an element of doubt, which is why we can’t confirm until we’re 100%,” said Vanessa Pirotta, a whale expert at Macquarie University.
“If it is him it would be incredible that this one iconic whale has avoided being seen for so long along one of the busiest coastlines in the world.”
Migaloo, the only known albino humpback whale in Australia’s east coast population, was first spotted in 1991 at Byron Bay when he was estimated to be around two years old. He has been spotted occasionally in intervening years since, with the last sighting in 2020 off the coast of Port Macquarie.
In 2004, tissue samples collected from Migaloo, which is a First Nations word for “white fella”, confirmed its lack of pigmentation was due to albinism.
Pirotta said other whales in the population that are predominately white or are swimming on their backs with their white belly pointed to the sun can sometimes be mistaken for Migaloo by observers.
“It’s one of the beautiful things about this population that have such variation in the way that they look,” she said. “Migaloo looks like an iceberg under the water.”
This video footage was received by the White Whale Research Center on Friday 16th June from a tourist flying over the Great Barrier Reef in the Whitsunday Islands area. It shows a possible sighting of a white whale heading north.
— Migaloo the Whale (@Migaloo1) June 16, 2023
Could it be #Migaloo ? #Queensland #Australia pic.twitter.com/n8JxEUix4h
Dr Wally Franklin, director of the Oceania Project, said Migaloo has two telltale bumps on his back where his backbone protrudes and unique serrations on the outer side of his tail fluke.
“Last time we sighted him in Hervey Bay was in 1998 when he was around nine years old. He was singing and we recorded his song,” Franklyn said. “He’s quite a superb singer.”
Frankyln said there was a low probability that Migaloo would pass his albinism on to his offspring given both he and the female would need to carry the gene.
Pirotta encouraged anyone else who thinks they spot Migaloo to send the information to the White Whale Research Centre.
“The sighting is truly a great example of citizen science and people capturing information helps us learn more about one of the most famous whales in the world,” she said.
