tags: white orca, white killer whale, Orcinus orca, zoology, cetaceans, NOAA
A rare white killer whale, Orcinus orca, better known as an Orca,
photographed by researchers off the coast of Alaska on 23 February.
Image: Holly Fearnbach (NMML, NMFS permit 782-1719) [wallpaper size].
Seattle researchers were working off the coast of Alaska when they saw something amazing; a 25-30 foot long male "killer whale", Orcinus orca, that is white instead of being black-and-white, the characteristic color scheme for this species. This white whale, which was identified as a male due to its very tall…