{"id":7248,"date":"2012-11-16T09:13:02","date_gmt":"2012-11-16T17:13:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blitransfer.wpengine.com\/?p=7248"},"modified":"2017-06-21T14:18:09","modified_gmt":"2017-06-21T19:18:09","slug":"white-whale-spotted-off-coast-of-norway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bluelivingideas.com\/2012\/11\/16\/white-whale-spotted-off-coast-of-norway\/","title":{"rendered":"White Whale Spotted Off Coast of Norway"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Willow<\/a><\/p>\n

A rare white whale was spotted off the coast of Norway by a British engineer.\u00a0 Dan Fisher was on a boat trip when he saw the white whale surface.\u00a0 He filmed the whale surfacing (video below).<\/p>\n

The white humpback whale is being called Willow.\u00a0 The white is likely caused by leucism, a condition which reduces all pigmentation in the skin.\u00a0 It’s rare for animals with leucism to grow up in the wild.\u00a0 Without their natural coloring, animals become easily visible to predators.\u00a0 Willow is an adult whale living in a pod, so doesn’t face dangers from sharks or orca any more.<\/p>\n

Willow is not the only white humpback whale out there.\u00a0 Migaloo, likely an albino rather than leucistic whale, swims along the Australian coast.\u00a0 Wikipedia reports that a white humpback whale calf was spotted off the coast of Wales in 2006 with its mother.\u00a0 Perhaps that calf is Willow.<\/p>\n