First record of an anomalously white Killer Whale, Orcinus orca, near St. Lawrence Island, northern Bering Sea, Alaska

An anomalously white Killer Whale (Orcinus orca) was sighted swimming with a group of normally-pigmented Killer Whales near St. Lawrence Island in the northern Bering Sea. The white whale had a tall, straight dorsal fin, indicating a mature male. Most sightings of white or albinistic Killer Whales have been of individuals that were smaller than their companions. This sighting of an adult white male is unusual, given that albinistic individuals may not survive as long or attain as large a size as their normally-pigmented conspecifics due to the wide range of physical and physiological abnormalities commonly associated with partial or complete albinism.