The rare sight of white orcas captivates the world

“My legs were trembling, my heart was pounding”. N. Hayakawa, a nature photographer with almost twenty years of experience, could hardly hold back his emotions as he recounted his close encounter with a white orca in the waters near Rausu, Japan. A rare and exceptional occurrence that has made headlines around the globe.

Hayakawa has been sailing the waters around the island of Hokkaido, in northern Japan, for 15 years, taking photographs of orcas and other marine creatures. But nothing had prepared him for the incredible spectacle he encountered: a male orca with a creamy white hue that shone like a ghost in the deep blue ocean.

“This is the first white orca I’ve ever seen after all these years of photographing orcas in Rausu,” Hayakawa wrote on X last June, sharing his surprise with the world. The photographer’s images show the white orca swimming with its pod, a surreal sight that contrasts with the black and white of the other orcas.

But the surprise doesn’t end there. A few days later, Hayakawa also spotted another white orca, a female this time. Both whales swam calmly in the ocean, accepted and protected by their group. A picture that destroys ancient popular beliefs, which claimed that white orcas were mythical creatures, almost ghosts.

The mystery of the color

So, why are these orcas so special? The answer lies in leucism, a genetic condition that causes partial loss of pigmentation. Unlike albinism, which is a total absence of melanin and red eyes, leucism has some vestige of pigment remaining, such as dark eyes and faint body spots.

“The eyes are black,” Hayakawa explained, ruling out albinism and confirming the leucism diagnosis. Rare in nature, but even more so in orcas, which are top predators at the top of the food chain.

A growing phenomenon

Hayakawa’s experience is not unique. More white orcas have been spotted in recent years, which has provided hope that the species is recovering. One of the most famous is “Frosty,” a young orca spotted off the coast of California, which has become a symbol for the fight to save these amazing animals.

“It’s a small victory every time we see Frosty,” said Alisa Schulman-Janiger, a biologist with the California Killer Whale Project. A sign that white orcas, once believed to be mythical creatures, are returning to the world’s oceans.

Hayakawa’s hope

The photographer from Japan hopes to continue documenting the lives of these white orcas, perhaps even witness the birth of a calf. A dream that might just materialize, as the two orcas spotted are a male and a female.

“I hope to see another little white whale in the group someday,” concluded Hayakawa.