If I had just heard about this sighting, I would have thought someone was mistaking a swimming toy or empty mylar balloon for a pink dolphin, but sure enough, there are witnesses and good clear photos of the creature! Furthermore, science acknowledges the existence of this baby dolphin and can explain it! Interested? Read on.

Pink Baby

Turns out the baby dolphin is an albino which in the dolphin world means it’s bright pink from tip to tail and has reddish eyes. The skin has been described by witnesses as smooth, glossy pink, and without flaws. See photo to the right.

Regina Asmutis-Silvia, a senior biologist from the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, said, “I have never seen a dolphin colored in this way in all my career.” She further explained that, “Albinism is a genetic trait and it’s unclear as to the type of albinism this animal inherited.” She cautioned that people shouldn’t confuse this baby with a close relation, the Amazon River Botos which live in the South American Amazon river – they too are pink. (See photo below left.)

Captain Erik Rue, a charter boat operator, spotted the pink baby dolphin after it surfaced in Lake Calcasieu, an inland saltwater estuary. He’s seen it swimming with a pod of four other dolphins, one of which is clearly the baby’s mother. He said, “The dolphin appears to be healthy and normal other than its coloration, which is quite beautiful and stunningly pink.”

The captain also said that the baby is obviously growing and sometimes ventures a little ways from its mother but always remains in the vicinity of the pod.

Local conservationists have warned tourists to leave it alone.

Cryptically Speaking

For me, the exciting part of this discovery is how nature can change and alter the appearance of animals rendering them spectacularly different from what we normally expect to see. If it can happen with the known species of animals, it can happen with unknown species of animals – the cryptids.

So keep your eyes wide and cameras handy and let’s see what else we can spot in this fantastically diverse world of ours!

Til the next time!