Whale Wednesday: Call Me Migaloo - Oceana USA
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July 8, 2009

Whale Wednesday: Call Me Migaloo

Pinky isn’t the only albino marine mammal to make the news. Migaloo, an all white humpback whale whose Aboriginal name means white man, has recently been sighted off the eastern Australian coast. First spotted in 1991, Migaloo, like other humpback whales, migrates each year to warm tropical waters in the winter to breed and back to Antarctic feeding waters in the spring. Southern Cross University whale researcher Wally Franklin credits an increase in whale watchers to Migaloo because “he is an amazing sight and easy to track… he has become the ambassador of his kind.” As an ambassador, Queensland has declared him a special interest whale, with hefty fines levied on those who venture too close, whether by sea or air. All whales are protected by restrictions and fines for the sake of the animals and humans alike; full grown humpback whales can weigh more than a tractor trailer. With his special status, Migaloo is given a wider berth than his typically pigmented friends on his yearly track.