The white death: Meet Iceberg, the first-ever 'albino' killer whale to be spotted



When scientists saw a pure white six-foot fin breaking the surface of the water near Russia’s Kammchatka Peninsula, they knew a unique creature was hunting below the waves.

The fully grown orca bull they detected is the first ever discovered.

He hunts in a ‘pod’ of 12 (normally coloured) orcas- and must be at least 16 years old. The creatures can live to up to 60.

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The fin of an albino killer whale nicknamed Iceberg travelling in a pod of 13 orcas near Bering island in the Commander islands in Russia

The 'bull' is reckoned to be at least 16 years old

Previous white orcas have always been juveniles, but 'Iceberg' is thought to be at least 16, and possibly older

Kamchatka (highlighted in red)The area around the Commander Islands, where Iceberg was first seen, is protected as Russia¿s largest marine reserve He seems to have been accepted by the other killer whales. In the North Pacific, east of the Kamchatka Peninsula near the Commander Islands, the first-ever adult all-white, probably albino, orca bull has been observed by scientists from the universities in Moscow and St. Petersburg. The scientists called this unique orca ‘Iceberg’ after they saw his towering six feet white dorsal fin breaking the surface. ‘In many ways, Iceberg is a symbol of all that is pure, wild and extraordinarily exciting about what is out there in the ocean waiting to be discovered,’ says Erich Hoyt, co-director of the Orca project. ‘The challenge is to keep the ocean healthy so such surprises are always possible.’ The area around the Commander Islands, where Iceberg was first seen, is protected as Russia’s largest marine reserve. ‘We’ve seen another two white orcas in Russia but they’ve been young, whereas this is the first time we’ve seen a mature adult,’ Hoyt told BBC News. ‘It has the full two-metre-high dorsal fin of a mature male, which means it’s at least 16 years old - in fact the fin is somewhat ragged, so it might be a bit older. The killer whale hunts as part of a pod of 12 normally coloured animals

The scientists now aim to track the 'pod' to discover more about the unusual creature

'We've seen another two white orcas in Russia but they've been young, whereas this is the first time we've seen a mature adult,' said Dr Hoyt

‘Iceberg seems to be fully socialised; we know that these fish-eating orcas stay with their mothers for life, and as far as we can see he’s right behind his mother with presumably his brothers next to him,’ said Dr Hoyt.

There are plans to expand it, and the scientists are suggesting that it should form part of a network of reserves to give protection to the critical habitat of various whale, dolphin and porpoise species off eastern Russia.