page_title: Albinism
section_title: Marine mammals
hierarchical_section_title: Albinism / In mammals / Marine mammals
caption_attribution_description: English: This white killer whale (Orcinus orca) was spotted with its pod about two miles off Kanaga Volcano, part of Alaska’s Aleutian Islands, on February 23, 2008. At the time, Kodiak-based Oscar Dyson was on a research expedition for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Alaska Fisheries Science Center, assessing pollock fish stocks near Steller sea lion haulout sites. This white whale is a fish-eating type of killer whale, as were all the killer whales photographed on the expedition. Fish-eating killer whales are the most frequently seen whales around the Aleutian Islands during the summer. The winter sightings represent important evidence that they may be common year-round.
context_page_description: Albinism is the "congenital absence of any pigmentation or coloration in a person, animal or plant, resulting in white hair, feathers, scales and skin and pink eyes in mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish and invertebrates as well." Varied use and interpretation of the terms mean that written reports of albinistic animals can be difficult to verify. Albinism can reduce the survivability of an animal; for example, it has been suggested that albino alligators have an average survival span of only 24 hours due to the lack of protection from UV radiation and their lack of camouflage to avoid predators. It is a common misconception that all albino animals have characteristic pink or red eyes, however this is not the case for some forms of albinism. Familiar albino animals include in-bred strains of laboratory animals, but populations of naturally occurring albino animals exist in the wild, e.g. Mexican cave tetra. Albinism is a well-recognized phenomenon in molluscs, both in the shell and in the soft parts.
context_section_description: The costs of albinism for marine mammals may include reduced heat absorption in colder waters, poor camouflage from predators, increased sensitivity to sunlight, and impaired visual communication. Despite the costs, some individuals do reach adult age and breeding status.
  Albino dolphins were first sighted in the Gulf of Mexico in 1962.  Since 1994, three further individuals have been seen.  These tend to be pink in color due to blood vessels showing through the blubber and unpigmented skin.
  A report published in 2008 stated that in marine mammals, "anomalously white" individuals have been reported for 21 cetacean species and 7 pinniped species but there were no known reports of anomalously white sea otters (Enhydra lutris) or sirenians.
  Whales and dolphins also may appear white if extensively scarred, or covered with a fungus, such as Lobo's disease (also known as "lobomycosis").
caption: An albino killer whale
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