Albino Risso’s Dolphin Spotting!

The Masked Shadow

Redtail Catfish
MFK Member
Jul 19, 2020
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Southern California (San Diego)
Hi everyone! While on spring break at Monterey Bay, my dad and I decided to go on a whale watching boat. Most of the time they see Humpback Whales, which we did, but we also some other things!!

I’m the beginning of the trip we saw a pod of Risso’s Dolphin. We later ended up cruising through a grey whale highway, but grey whales are rare…. My dad and I decided to chill at the front of the boat, and managed to spot one…but the captain just kept going, and completely missed the whale :(

Then, later, someone spotted a pod Pacific White-side dolphins. They are normally very far out, but we managed to see them very very close to shore. Along with the Pacific White-side dolphins was a pod of Risso’s. And just as the trip was ending, someone spotted a completely white dolphin. Risso’s are squid eaters, which means they get many scars from the squid hooks. However, the dolphin spotted was a complete albino. Less than 80 albino dolphins are in the world, and only 5 of those are Risso’s Dolphins. The one spotted was originally found in 2015…a male named Casper. The same guy who first spotted him, a nature photographer who goes out whale watching every day, was on the boat, and ID’d him as a male, so that was Casper.

He was last spotted in 2019. The photographer, Daniel Bianchetta (bigsurphoto.com) got a good picture of him. I’m uploading the videos I got of him to YouTube right now.

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jjohnwm

Sausage Finger Spam Slayer
MFK Member
Mar 29, 2019
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Manitoba, Canada
Very cool sighting.
 
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