UK’s The Gaurdian is reporting a rare pink bottlenose dolphin has been spotted again today in Lake Calcasieu, an inland saltwater estuary, north of the Gulf of Mexico in south-west Louisiana. The albino dolphin was first spotted last year. http://www.guardian.co.uk/ Tuesday 3 March 2009 . The animal has been recorded on video by local charter boat Captain Erik Rue, 42, below.
Regina Asmutis-Silvia, a senior biologist with the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, said: “I have never seen a dolphin coloured in this way in all my career.” While this animal looks pink, it is an albino which you can notice in the pink eyes. Albinism is a genetic trait and it unclear as to the type of albinism this animal inherited.
Possibly related to Amazon “pink dolphins” (pictured below), this one is an amazing anomaly. Technically an albino, it has reddish eyes and glossy pink skin.
A different dolphin species, the endangered Amazon river boto (Inia geoffrensis), which lives in South America , is sometimes called the pink river dolphin because of its appearance.
Journey of the Pink Dolphins: An Amazon Quest is a meticulous account of the natural history of this species: it is also a poignant portrait of the magnificent, joyful, troubled country of Brazil. Sy Montgomery is an exceptional writer, balancing a vibrant curiosity and eye for local color with a crooked sense of humor.
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