Rare white dolphin named Casper spotted in group of 1,000 off CA coast, video shows
A ghostly white figure graced the waters off the California coast, offering whale watchers a rare glimpse.
Casper, an all white Risso’s dolphin, was spotted swimming in Monterey Bay with a pod of more than 1,000 dolphins Tuesday, April 25, Monterey Bay Whale Watch said in an April 26 Facebook post.
“Any day spent in the company of this special individual is a good day in our book,” the company said.
Those aboard delighted in the sight.
“His stunning white body is incredible to see in the deep blue water,” a Facebook user shared.
The dolphin was also spotted in the bay just 11 days before, the company said in an April 15 Facebook post.
Casper frequents the area, Nancy Black, a marine biologist with the whale-watching company, told The Mercury News.
“You can see him any time of year, sometimes he stays for several months with his family and other Risso’s dolphins,” Black told the newspaper.
The dolphin is a rarity, as he is just one of three white Risso’s dolphins in the world, Colleen Talty, a marine biologist with the company, told KION-TV.
It’s unclear where Casper gets his white pigmentation, as it is either the result of albinism or leucism, according to the company.
“With leucism, you’ll usually see more natural pigment on them, whereas with albinism it’s a pure white animal,” Eric Austin Yee, a naturalist with Discovery Whale Watch, told SFGate. “There are a few other dolphins in the world that are white with patches of pigment on them so we know for sure they’re leucistic, but on Casper we haven’t seen the patches. Casper is pretty white.”
Leucism is the “abnormal condition of reduced pigmentation” caused by a genetic mutation in animals that “inhibits melanin and other pigments from being deposited in feathers, hair, or skin,” according to Merriam-Webster. It results in “overall pale color or patches of reduced coloring.”
Albinism, on the other hand, is “caused by an absence or defect of the enzyme tyrosinase, which is involved in the synthesis of melanin — the pigment that gives skin, hair, and eyes their color,” according to the nonprofit Dolphin Project.
Daniel Bianchetta, a photographer with Monterey Bay Whale Watch, first spotted Casper in 2015, The Mercury News reported. He named him not just for his white color but also for his scattered appearances.
“The name just seemed appropriate,” Bianchetta told the newspaper. “We wouldn’t see him for six months at a time, so he was kind of like a ghost — you’d see him sometimes and then you wouldn’t.”
Risso’s dolphins, which have a lifespan of “at least 35 years,” are found “worldwide in temperate, subtropical, and tropical oceans and seas,” according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. They typically measure between 8 1/2 and 13 feet long and weigh between 660 to 1,100 pounds.
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