A rare white whale was spotted and filmed by tourists aboard the New Year’s Eve ship during a trip in the Andaman Sea off the coast of Thailand’s province of Phuket.
Footage of the encounter was posted to Facebook by ThaiWhales and displayed the albino whale swimming near the ship.
It briefly surfaces for a breath, displaying a pure white body and leaving the onlookers stunned.
According to the Miami Herald, this is the first-known sighting of a white Omura’s whale, which was only recently discovered in 2003.
This breed of whale was first studied based on corpses, and not found alive in the wild until 2015, per Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC).
The organization noted, “Although they are seldom seen, Omura’s whales are still being discovered in new places and it is possible that in the coming years, further discoveries will demonstrate that they live in tropical and warm-temperate seas all over the world.”
“So far, they have been spotted in all ocean basins with the exception of the central and eastern Pacific,” the WDC added.
They also noted, “Omura’s whales are seen off Madagascar all year round and do not migrate.
The Omura’s whale is considered small when compared to other whales and typically has black and white markings.
This sighting was reported to Thailand’s Department of Marine and Coastal Services which led to a survey of the area, according to another Facebook Post.
As of Jan. 8, the white whale was not found, but four other Omura’s whales were spotted by the department, via Facebook.
Although this may be the first sighting of a white Omura’s whale ever, in 2017 a white humpback whale was found off the coast of Australia.
National Geographic WILD shared the footage and noted, “This is one of only three humpback whales that have been recorded in the region.”
“The first white humpback that was spotted in 1991,” they added.
They also noted that scientists believe whales may be subject to a genetic mutation similar to albinism or some form of hypo-pigmentation.