By Canadian Press

Rare white young killer whale swimming off the British Columbia coast

May 30, 2019 | 2:57 PM

VANCOUVER — A rare white killer whale has been spotted off the coast of British Columbia.

Jared Towers, an orca ecologist with Fisheries and Oceans Canada, says the young transient killer whale was first seen at the end of November and was confirmed again May 17.

White orcas have been spotted a few times in the last century in B.C.’s waters but Towers says none of them were still alive.

Several conditions can give whales that bleached appearance and it’s not yet known which one is affecting this months-old male.

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Some conditions can cause health problems, but Towers says the juvenile most likely has a harmless condition called leucism, which causes a partial loss of colour in the skin but not in the eyes.

Some orcas are also born white and develop the more typical black-and-white pigmentation as they age.

The Canadian Press