Brothers spot rare ‘pure white’ creature in Alaska. See the ‘truly amazing’ moment

Moira Ritter
·2 min read
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For his 40th birthday, Jeff Toy ventured from Buffalo, New York, to Alaska with his brother. The pair had two goals in mind: find adventure and find animals.

“I’ve always been obsessed with animals,” Toy told McClatchy News. “Beluga whales were definitely on that list as they are incredible creatures.”

The brothers spent two weeks in Alaska, making stops in Juneau and Anchorage before reaching their final destination in Katmai to find bears.

While in Juneau, the brothers caught a glimpse of whales bubble-net feeding, where the animals use their blowholes under fish to trap them near the surface, and they spotted some humpback whales, Toy said. But by their last day in Anchorage, Aug. 13, they hadn’t seen the belugas they’d hoped to find.

That’s when Toy checked a local Facebook page, Belugas Count, and saw that there were reports of the creatures at the mouth of Ship Creek, a river near Anchorage.

“We rushed down there and were with only about eight other people,” Toy said.

In the river, Toy and his brother finally found what they’d been searching for: a group of endangered Cook Inlet belugas were feeding on salmon.

The creatures were “pure white,” Toy said.
The creatures were “pure white,” Toy said.

“We watched them push in on the salmon as they were easier to get at low tide,” Toy said. “It was truly amazing to see how white they shined in that water and how they moved with precision as they are so much smaller than the humpback whales we saw the week before.”

Beluga whales are characterized by their white color and unique vocal sounds, which earned them the nickname of “canary of the sea,” according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Cook Inlet belugas are a distinct population segment of the species that is considered among the most at risk for extinction.

Experts with NOAA said the population is estimated to contain only about 331 whales as of 2022, an increase from previous surveys but still a concerning number.

Toy said the creatures looked like dolphins, but their “pure white” color set them apart.

The Cook Inlet belugas were feeding on salmon in Ship Creek, Toy said.
The Cook Inlet belugas were feeding on salmon in Ship Creek, Toy said.

“We sat there for over an hour just watching their patterns while the boats went by and it was a very special moment,” he said.

Toy shared the sighting in an Aug. 14 Facebook post.

“Luck and wonder collide,” he wrote. “Nature’s spectacle at its finest. Grateful for this unique encounter.”

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