(Image: Noriko Funasaka /Taiji Whale Museum)
No, you鈥檙e not hallucinating: it is a pink dolphin. Angel the bottlenose dolphin, pictured above, is the world鈥檚 only albino dolphin in captivity.
Angel was as a baby during the annual 鈥渄rive fishery鈥� in Taiji, Japan, when hundreds of dolphins are herded into shallow water and killed with spears. The practice came to worldwide attention in 2009 after the release of the Oscar-winning documentary .
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She was then brought to live at the Taiji Whale Museum. Her telltale vivid pink eyes and mouth leave no doubt that she is an albino and not merely white. There have only been a total of since the first was spotted in 1962, so she belongs to a very exclusive club.
Angel鈥檚 startling appearance quickly caught the eye of animal rights groups, who The attention caused by the court case forced the museum to lift its restrictions.
Angel鈥檚 popularity is understandable considering how rare albinism is in dolphin species, says , a vet from based in Santa Monica, California.
Journal reference:
Clarification, 14 April, 2015: Details of the Taiji drive fishery have been added since this article was first published. Additionally, speculation about the cause of the albinism has been removed.
