Recently, vacationers off the coast of Phuket, Thailand, had the incredible good fortune to spot an incredibly uncommon white whale.
According to the New York Post, on the first day of the new year, guests on the boat “Happy Ours” were treated to a once-in-a-lifetime view of an all-white Omura’s Whale swimming next to another whale.
The whale was seen in the Phuket Province, about 5.6 miles south of Coral Island.
This is the first known observation of what might be an albino of the species off Thailand, while the BBC reports that the first living Omura’s whale was sighted in the wild in 2015.
Although they are considered an uncommon species, omura’s whales can be seen infrequently in the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand. They are mostly found in Southeast Asian seas and waters south of Japan.
The Department of Marine and Coastal Resources’ recently appointed chief, Pinsak Surasawadi, stated that although the department’s animal expert team searched the area where an albino Omura’s whale was observed, they have not yet located it, according to Bangkok Post.
The sighting was posted on Facebook by Professor Thon Thamrongnawasawat of Kasetsart University’s Department of Marine Science. He stated that the likelihood of spotting the exceedingly uncommon white Omura whale is at least one in ten million.
The search for the marine animal is currently being intensified by officials, and a surveillance vessel equipped with a drone has been sent out to cover the area.
Because of their declining population, omurae whales are listed as protected by the Wild Animal Conservation and Protection Act BE 2562 (2019).
Watch the video below:
