Rare albino seal returned to the wild has good chance of survival

DutchNews, January 16, 2020 - By Hanneke Sanou 

The albino seal with transmitter. Photo: Ecomare

The albino seal that was returned to the wild on Wednesday stands a good chance of survival, seal sanctuary Ecomare has told Dutchnews.nl. 

The seal, the first albino ever treated at Ecomare, was brought into the centre on Texel in October. The animal was emaciated and was suffering from a lungworm infection. 

Mariette Smit, head of the animal care department at Ecomare said albinism in wild seals happens occasionally but that very little is known about it. 

‘We have no reason to doubt that he will not survive,’ Smit told Dutchnews.nl. ‘Seals are top predators, they have no natural enemies in the Wadden Sea, and we don’t expect any social problems in his relationship with other seals. They are solitary animals in general even though they cluster on the same sandbanks.’ 

The only problem the seal may have is with its eyes, which are very sensitive to light. ‘It will adapt by narrowing his eyes to keep out the brightness’, Smit said. 

The seal has been fitted with a transmitter so Ecomare can keep track of the seal’s journey through the Wadden Sea as well  as collect other data, for instance how long it rests and how deep it dives. Ecomare also wants to know how seals that have spent time at the centre interact with other seals.

'Russian' whale leads to espionage speculations in Norway

Yahoo – AFP, Pierre-Henry DESHAYES, May 3, 2019

The origin of the whale remains unknown more than a week after it was first spotted
(AFP Photo/Jorgen REE WIIG)

Oslo (AFP) - A spy, a far away visitor or a fugitive on the run? A mysterious Beluga whale, caught wearing a suspicious harness, has ignited the imaginations of Norwegians who have yet to receive answers.

The whale has been delighting locals in the area of Finnmark in the far north of Norway for the last week.

But more than a week after it was first spotted by fishermen in the Arctic waters off the coast of northern Norway its origin remains unknown.

When Jorgen Ree Wiig, a marine biologist working with the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries tracked down the mammal with the help of a fisherman and two colleagues on April 26, they managed to remove an obviously man-made harness attached to it.

The harness had a mount suited for an action camera and the text "Equipment St. Petersburg" printed on the plastic clasps.

Wiig told AFP on Friday he believed the whale could have come from neighbouring Russia, where he believed it might have escaped an enclosure.

"The whale is so calm around humans and goes up to boats so it seems to have been accustomed to humans," Wiig said.

Hidden agenda?

Another theory supported by Wiig was that the whale could have been trained by the Russian navy as "they have been known to do so before."

Its ease with humans, the markings on the harness together with reports of the Russian Navy training Beluga whales has led many Norwegians to speculate that it could be a "Russian spy."

Moscow has not issued any official reaction but an officer quoted by the media has mocked the idea, arguing that the military would not be stupid enough to "leave their phone number" on an animal trained for clandestine activities.

The Barents Sea is a strategic geopolitical area where Western and Russian submarine movements are monitored.

It is also the gateway to the Northern Route that shortens maritime routes between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

Dmitry Glazov, a scientist working at the Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy of Sciences, told Russian news agency Interfax that the Russian Navy had programmes involving whales and that they were in part operating out of Murmansk.

"It is a fact that the military has these animals. Among other things, they used them during the Sochi Olympics," Glazov said Monday.

There are also private travel agents around Murmansk advertising tours that involve meeting or diving with Belugas kept in enclosures in the White Sea south of the Kola peninsula.

AFP has reached out to two of these agents but has been unable to get a response, as it was a public holiday in the country.

The harness itself has been transferred to the Norwegian Police Security Service (PST), but Martin Bernsen, communications officer at PST, said it was unclear whether they would find anything.

"We must admit that examining technical equipment attached to whales is not a daily occurrence for PST," he told AFP.

"The whale is not a suspect in our investigation, for now," he added.

Possible Western connection

Another theory on the origin of the whale is that the "Equipment St. Petersburg," since it's written in English, might refer to the St. Petersburg in the US state of Florida, where there are water parks with Beluga whales, such as Seaworld in Orlando.

According to Jorgen Ree Wiig it wouldn't be inconceivable for the whale to have travelled from there.

"They can swim quite far and especially young males have been known to travel very far," Wiig said.

This hypothesis is supported by videos showing local residents throwing plastic rings in the water which the whale brings back.

Its path would then be reminiscent to that of the famous killer whale Keiko, star of the film "Free Willy" (1993), who once released into the wild outside Iceland swam to the coastal waters of Norway.

No water park has however yet reported the disappearance of a Beluga whale.

Wherever it's from, the whale has become quite the celebrity, and a poll to name it was conducted online by Norwegian broadcaster NRK and gathered 25,000 votes.

Thirty percent of the votes went to the name "Hvaldimir", a pun on the word whale in Norwegian and a nod to its alleged association to Russia.

Beluga whales, which can reach a size of 6 metres and live to between 40 and 60 years of age generally habitate the icy waters around Greenland and northern Norway and Russia.

A sociable species related to dolphins, it travels in pods and the observation of an isolated individual is rare.

Rare albino penguin makes debut at Polish zoo

Yahoo – AFP, March 22, 2019

The albino penguin is believed to be the only one of its kind in captivity (AFP
Photo/Maciej KOSYCARZ)

Warsaw (AFP) - A rare three-month-old albino penguin made its first public appearance at a zoo in the Polish Baltic port city of Gdansk, where its keepers claim it is the only one of its kind in captivity.

The all-white African black-foot penguin was born on December 14, but zoo staff decided to keep its arrival secret as they were unsure the vulnerable newborn would survive.

Zoo staff are waiting until they are able to determine its sex to name the youngster.

"As far as we know, there is no other such specimen alive (in captivity) in the world," Michal Targowski, director of the Gdansk Zoo, told the TVN24 commercial news channel.

"The baby is active, in good health, eats well and, what's very important, its parents are taking very good care of it," Targowski said.

To ensure its safety, the youngster is being kept with a small group of six adults, including its parents, part of a group of 70 penguins living at the Gdansk Zoo.

"We're really doting on him so that nothing bad happens to him", Targowski, explaining that other penguins in the troop could take exception to the baby's unique look and harm it.

African black-footed penguins, also known as jackass penguins due to their braying noise, have been rated as endangered since 2010 after suffering from commercial fishing, shortage of prey and pollution.

Arctic beluga whale 'swimming strongly' in Thames estuary

Yahoo – AFP, Robin MILLARD, September 26, 2018

A beluga whale in the river Thames, close to Gravesend. (AFP Photo/
Daniel LEAL-OLIVAS)

Gravesend (United Kingdom) (AFP) - A beluga whale spotted in the River Thames estuary outside London --- far from its natural Arctic habitat -- is "swimming strongly and feeding normally", Britain's main animal protection charity said on Wednesday.

"At the moment, there are no major concerns for the welfare of the animal," the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said in a statement, adding that the whale appeared "able to move fast in the water and dive".

"Following our request to the London Coastguard, we are pleased that local boats have moved away. Whales have acute hearing and become stressed very easily," the group said.

The extremely rare sighting triggered wonder and excitement on Tuesday and the whale was spotted again in the same area on Wednesday.

Rob Lott, a marine mammal scientist at the Whale and Dolphin Conservation wildlife charity, said the cetacean was being monitored.

"The longer it stays in the Thames estuary then it will become more of a concern," he told BBC radio.

A beluga whale breaches in the River Thames close to Gravesend, east of 

London on September 26, 2018 (AFP Photo/Daniel LEAL-OLIVAS)

"Hopefully instinct will soon kick in and the beluga will leave the estuary and go out into the North Sea and then head north where it should be," the scientist explained.

The sight of a beluga whale so far south -- 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometres) from even Iceland -- is exceptional.

"Beluga whales are a species of the icy Arctic -- finding one in the tepid Thames is an astonishingly rare event," said Rod Downie, polar chief adviser at WWF, the World Wide Fund for Nature.

Lucy Babey, head of science and conservation at the marine conservation charity Orca, said it was the most southerly recording of a beluga in Britain, according to the BBC.

The previous reported sightings of beluga whales in UK waters were in 2015, when two were spotted off the northeast coast of England and one in Northern Ireland.

Rescue teams are on standby in case the whale gets into trouble.

"It's very unusual and it's not a very good place," Julia Cable, spokeswoman for British Divers Marine Life Rescue, which saves marine animals in distress, told AFP.

The Thames remains a busy waterway and the whale is currently between two major container docks, Tilbury and the new London Gateway port.

"We wouldn't go anywhere near it in a boat. We could just do more harm than good," said Cable.

A beluga whale surfaces in the river Thames estuary near Gravesend.

(AFP Photo/Daniel LEAL-OLIVAS)

Feeding around barges

The beluga was first sighted on Tuesday near the southern, Kent side of the river, downstream of Gravesend.

It was feeding around moored barges and did not move more than 200 metres during the day.

An AFP photographer saw the whale surfacing in the same area on Wednesday.

Belugas typically live for 40 to 60 years. Highly sociable, they typically form pods and are often seen in river estuaries in the summer.

The beluga's appearance brings back memories of the famous 2006 Thames whale.

A female northern bottlenose whale was discovered swimming in the river in central London, going past the Houses of Parliament.

On its second day in the city, as it lost strength, rescuers intervened and lifted it onto a barge by crane. It died, after suffering from convulsions, near Gravesend as the barge rushed towards the open sea.

Drones give rare glimpse into Australian whales

Yahoo – AFP, September 6, 2016

Researchers spotted the baby white whale while off the coast of Western Australia
 using a drone to conduct aerial surveys of southern right whale populations (AFP
Photo/Frederik Christiansen)

Sydney (AFP) - Scientists studying whales in Australia have gained rare images of a white calf swimming with its mother as part of a project they hope will help conservation efforts.

Researchers spotted the baby white whale while using a drone to conduct aerial surveys of southern right whale populations off the coast of Western Australia.

"Drones are allowing us to non-invasively measure the size and body condition of free living southern right whales," said Fredrik Christiansen, a researcher at Murdoch University's Cetacean Research Unit.

Lars Bejder, who took the drone footage with Christiansen off Augusta in the state's southwest in July and August, said the drones provided a new perspective on the animals.

Southern right whale populations are showing signs of recovery from the impact of whaling last century, but the population is still estimated to be relatively small at about 3,000 animals in Australian waters.

The white calf is rare as only about five percent of the species are born this colour. They darken to grey in their first year.

Southern right whale populations are showing signs of recovery from the impact 

of whaling last century, but the population is still estimated to be relatively small at

about 3,000 animals in Australian waters (AFP Photo/Frederik Christiansen)

The drones are part of an innovative programme which also uses suction caps applied to the whales to measure their dives and sounds to learn more about the animals.

"Little is known about the three dimensional movements and habitat-use of southern right whales in their breeding and calving grounds in Australia," Bejder said in a statement.

He added that such data was vital for the animal's conservation given many areas in the region were slated for developments which would see an increase in shipping and tourism.

"Our aim is not only to study the behavioural ecology of these amazing animals, but also to provide information to industry and management towards conservation," he said.

The suction cup tags, carefully affixed to the animals via hand-held poles, stay attached for up to 24 hours and measure and record the depth, pitch and roll of swimming behaviour.

"The tag also records sound, which is sufficient for measuring sounds made by boats and those heard by the whales," said Bejder.

Scientists discover 'ghostlike' octopus off Hawaii

Yahoo - AFP, 6 March 2016

This image courtesy of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA), Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, Hohonu Moana 2016, shows small
translucent octopus, nicknamed Casper for his resemblance to the famous
cartoon ghost (AFP Photo)

Washington (AFP) - Scientists have discovered a "ghostlike" octopus in deep water off Hawaii that appears to belong to a previously unknown species, researchers said.

A submersible research craft spotted the small, translucent octopus by chance around 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) underwater off Necker Island on the northwestern end of the Hawaiian Archipelago, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said.

"As the ROV (remotely operated vehicle) was traversing a flat area of rock interspersed with sediment at 4,290 meters, it came across a remarkable little octopod sitting on a flat rock dusted with a light coat of sediment," the NOAA's Michael Vecchione said.

"The appearance of this animal was unlike any published records and was the deepest observation ever" for this type of marine creature, he added, in a statement released on March 2.

The octopus -- nicknamed "Casper the Friendly Ghost" on social media -- was caught on camera by the Okeanos Explorer, which the NOAA uses to explore underwater geology and marine life in little-known parts of the world's oceans.

Vecchione said the newly discovered octopus has a single row of suckers on each tentacle instead of the usual two, but is "particularly unusual because it lacked the pigment cells, called chromatophores, typical of most cephalopods, and it did not seem very muscular."

"It is almost certainly an undescribed species and may not belong to any described genus," he said.

Hong Kong risks losing its pink dolphins: groups

Google – AFP, 6 May 2013

Pink dolphins playing in the waters off Lantau in Hong Kong, in a photo by

 the Hong Kong Dolphin Conservation Society (Hong Kong Dolphin

Conservation Society/AFP)

HONG KONG — Conservationists warned Monday that Hong Kong may lose its rare Chinese white dolphins, also known as pink dolphins for their unique colour, unless it takes urgent action against pollution and other threats.

Their numbers in Hong Kong waters have fallen from an estimated 158 in 2003 to just 78 in 2011, with a further decline expected when figures for 2012 are released next month, said the Hong Kong Dolphin Conservation Society.

"It is up to the government and every Hong Kong citizen to stand up for dolphins. We risk losing them unless we all take action," said society chairman Samuel Hung.

Two weeks ago a tour guide from Hong Kong Dolphinwatch spotted a group of pink dolphins helping a grieving mother support the body of her dead calf above the water in an attempt to revive it.

The scene, captured on video and widely shared on Facebook, has raised fresh concerns about the dwindling population in a city where dolphin watching is a tourist attraction.

"We're 99 percent certain the calf died from toxins in the mother's milk, accumulated from polluted seawater," said Hong Kong Dolphinwatch spokeswoman Janet Walker, who added it was the third such incident reported in April alone.

Fewer than 2,500 of the mammals survive in the Pearl River Delta, the body of water between Macau and Hong Kong, with the majority found in Chinese waters and the rest in Hong Kong.

Experts say their number has dropped significantly in the past few years due to overfishing, an increase in marine traffic, water pollution, habitat loss and coastal development.

Hung said proposals to build a third runway on reclaimed land at the Hong Kong international airport would place further strain on the dolphins' habitat.

Campaigning against such developments and lobbying boat companies to divert traffic away from dolphin-inhabited areas are some of the ways people can support the mammals, he said.

The Chinese white dolphins, a population of the Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin species, are listed as "near-threatened" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

The pink dolphin was the official mascot at the handover ceremony when the former British colony was returned to Chinese rule in 1997

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The Celestial White Beings via Natalie Glasson: White Whales and the White Elephants

Matthew preparing us for the Golden Age – Jan 19, 2012 - Essay on 2012 by Matthew (Channeller: Suzy Ward)

“..  Animals in the wild will instinctively know not to overpopulate and those that are   carnivorous will turn to the plant kingdom for sustenance.  The albinos being born in several animal species have both spiritual and transitional significance.  You associate white with peace, and these rarities that are appearing are symbolic of the coming changes in animal nature that will end the predator-prey food chain and restore the peaceable relationship that once existed among all species, including humankind.  The instances of unlikely cross-species friendships and even nurturing of the young from one species by mothers of another are more indications of Earth’s return to her original paradise self.  Still, an extremely important factor in this is the inspiration in many souls to be advocates for the animal kingdom and alleviate their manmade plight. …”

Pink elephant is caught on camera

Rare white killer whale spotted off Russian coast

Whale watchers get world's closest encounter yet with Migaloo the albino humpback off the coast of Australia

The real-life Moby Dick: Incredibly rare WHITE humpback whale spotted off coast of Norway

Daily Mail, Niamh O'Doherty, 15 November

 

A white whale has been causing a splash after being spotted swimming in a pod of humpbacks by a British maritime engineer.

Dan Fisher, 32, was on a boat trip to Svalbard in Norway when he noticed a giant white hump rise from the water.

Rushing up a mast to get a better look, he quickly realised he was witnessing one of nature's rarest sights — a white whale, just like the iconic Moby Dick in the novel by American author Herman Melville.

The humpback, looking like a real-life version of the iconic Moby Dick,
was spotted swimming in a pod of whales off the coast of Norway

The whale is probably white because of a condition called leucism, which
causes a reduction in all types of skin pigment

One of nature's rarest sights, it was spotted by Dan Fisher, 32, who was on
a boat trip to Svalbard. He rushed up the boat's mast to snap these pictures

A classic: Moby-Dick,
by American  author
Herman  Melville, was first
published in 1851

The whale probably has a condition called leucism, which causes a lack of pigmentation in its skin.

Mr Fisher, originally from Penyffordd in North Wales, said: 'When I spotted the white hump poking out of the water I was miffed as to what it was.

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'But as soon as I realised it was a white whale, I was amazed.

'I quickly climbed the mast to get a good vantage point and captured these pictures.

'Afterwards we were all talking and decided to dub him Willow the white whale.'

Mr Fisher, who has spent 10 years working at sea as a maritime engineer, says he has never seen anything like it before.

Mr Fisher, who has spent 10 years working at sea as a maritime engineer, says
 he had never seen anything like it before and called it a once-in-a-lifetime spot

The engineer said no one believed he had witnessed the spectacular sight
until he showed them these pictures

He later decided to dub the rare humpback Willow the White Whale

He added: 'Everyone I have told about it hasn't believed me until I show them the pictures.

'It was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime spot. I saw a lot of humpback whales this year but nothing as spectacular as this one.'

Melville's novel tells the adventures of sailor Ishmael, and his voyage on the ship Pequod, which is commanded by Captain Ahab.

Ishmael soon learns that Ahab has but one goal: to hunt down Moby Dick, a ferocious white sperm whale, that once destroyed Ahab's boat and bit off his leg off the coast of Japan in a previous expedition.

In the end Ahab's obsession dooms all his crew, apart from Ishmael, to death.

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Whale watchers get world's closest encounter yet with Migaloo the albino humpback off the coast of Australia

Daily Mail, Alex Ward, 28 September

• Albino humpback whale Migaloo was spotted off the east coast of Australia 
• The rare mammal was on his annual migration to Antarctic waters

You would think that an albino humpback whale would be hard to miss but this amazing beast has proved elusive in the deep blue.

That was until yesterday when he appeared off the Australian east coast, breaching and swimming right up to whale watching boats.

Known as Migaloo – Aboriginal for ‘white fella’ – the rare whale famous among whale watchers, showed off as he made his way to the chilly Antarctic waters for his annual migration.

Rare encounter: Whale watchers off the Australian east coast were lucky
enough to see Migaloo, the famous albino humpback whale

He was at arm’s length to fans aboard a whale watching boat, possibly the world’s closest encounter with Migaloo.

The all-white whale was spotted off Moreton Island late on Wednesday before he was seen out to sea beyond South Stradbroke Island on at 10am on Thursday.

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By 11.30am he was 3.8 nautical miles off Surfers Paradise Beach, near Brisbane, the first confirmed sighting of Migaloo off the Gold Coast since 2009.

At arm's length: The all-white humpback swum right up to a whale
watching boat, possibly the world's closest encounter with Migaloo

Migaloo is Aboriginal for 'white fella', the rare mammal is famous among
whale watchers

Show off: Migaloo amazed whale watchers, breaching and swimming
close to boats

Migaloo was first sighted in 1991 when he was the only known white whale in the world.

That was until an albino calf was spotted with its protective mother off the Australian coast near Sydney.

It was believed to be the offspring of Migaloo and has been unofficially named MJ (Migaloo Junior), according to The White Whale Research Centre.

Migaloo is protected under Australian law and part of Australia's east coast humpback population that has been brought back from the brink of extinction following the halting of whaling in the early 1960s.

Spotted before: Migaloo was first spotted in 1991 and has been seen a
handful of times while making his annual migration to Antartic waters such
as off Byron Bay on the eastern Australian coast in 2006 (pictured)

Migaloo Junior: Migaloo was thought to be the only albino humpback in the
world until this all-white calf was spotted in 2011 with its protective mother.
 Believed to be the offspring of Migaloo, it has been unofficially named
MJ (Migaloo Junior)

Protected by law: Migaloo, pictured in 2009, is part of Australia's east coast
 humpback population that has been brought back from the brink of extinction
following the halting of whaling in the early 1960s

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Shark with webbed feet

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The Animals are Not Waiting for Us

Rare white killer whale spotted off Russian coast

Sighting in waters off Kamchatka peninsula is believed to be first time an adult white orca has been spotted in wild

guardian.co.uk, Ian Sample, science correspondent, Monday 23 April 2012

Footage of the white orca in the wild Link to this video

Scientists have glimpsed a white adult orca, or killer whale, while on a research expedition off the far eastern coast of Russia.

The sighting in waters off the Kamchatka peninsula is believed to be the first time such a whale has been spotted in the wild.

Researchers said the marine mammal, whom they nicknamed Iceberg, was swimming with its mother and siblings, and appeared to be fully accepted by its 12-strong family.

White whales are not unheard of, but only young white orcas are thought to have been recorded by marine conservationists before.

The whale was spotted by a group of scientists on a research cruise co-led by Erich Hoyt of the Far East Russia Orca Project.

"We've seen three white orcas in the past few years, but this is the very first time we've seen a mature animal that is all white," Hoyt told the Guardian.

Hoyt, a senior research fellow at the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, said the whale was last spotted in August 2010. The team is returning to the same waters next month to try to track it down again.

The scientists hope to confirm whether or not Iceberg is an albino by photographing his eyes. "If we can get a full close-up of the eyes and they are pink, it would confirm Iceberg is an albino, but we don't know much about albinism in orcas," Hoyt said.

Fully albino orcas can have weak immune systems and die young, but partial albinos can live into adulthood. Iceberg appears to be white all over and, judging by his two-metre dorsal fin, is at least 16 years old, Hoyt said.

"We've photographically identified 1,500 orcas in the region in the past 12 years there," Hoyt said. "If we see any of his pod and he's not there, we'll know he's gone."

During the expedition from May to September, researchers will lower hydrophones into the sea to record the sounds the whales make. There are believed to be three to four "clans" of whales in the waters the team surveyed, each with its own distinctive dialect.

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"Update on Current Events" – Jul 23, 2011 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) - (Subjects: The Humanization of God, Gaia, Shift of Human Consciousness, 2012, Benevolent Design, Financial Institutes (Recession, System to Change ...), Water Cycle (Heat up, Mini Ice Ace, Oceans, Fish, Earthquakes ..), Nuclear Power Revealed, Geothermal Power, Hydro Power, Drinking Water from Seawater, No need for Oil as Much, Middle East in Peace, Persia/Iran Uprising, Muhammad, Israel, DNA, Two Dictators to fall soon, Africa, China, (Old) Souls, Species to go, Whales to Humans, Global Unity,..... etc.)