Mutations

 This page is a work in progress. 

 

While I don’t believe colour mutations like these are common enough to account for the majority of “paper whale” descriptions, they are certainly a possibility, especially in cases where only one individual is described. Cetaceans in particular seem to be able to thrive in the wild despite these visual mutations, against the popular idea that leucistic and melanistic animals often fall prey to predators faster due to their differences. However, in a few cases, these mutations do attract the attention of a certain apex predator – humans. As a result, a few of these individuals have found themselves in captivity.

These are listed roughly in chronological order of when these individuals were reported/captured/born.

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Hamata and Yuji – leucistic Risso’s Dolphins – Taiji Whale Museum – c. 2010s?

While they might superficially resemble belugas, these two boys are actually Risso’s Dolphins. Hamata is pure white while Yuji has a few scattered dark patches. Yuji is likely leucistic, but I’m not sure if Hamata is leucistic or albino – the fact that he’s often squinting more than Yuji in photos is leading me to think he’s albino. They seem to live with a couple other normal Risso’s Dolphins at the Taiji Whale Museum. I assume they were wild captures, but I do not have confirmation of this.