Rare all-white dolphin seen on October 25, 2015

Updated April 29, 2021 • Published October 27, 2015 • Trip Reports

A rare, nearly all-white common dolphin was seen during Oceanic Society’s
Farallon Islands whale watching trip on Sunday, October 25, 2015. We were fortunate to have photojournalist and long-time Oceanic Society friend Jaymi Heimbuch (who will be leading our Southeast Alaska Cruise next July) on board to capture the image below.

Salty Lady deckhand EJ Carlson also captured the following video of the white dolphin swimming amid its pod.

The dolphin is thought to be nearly all-white in color due to leucism, a rare condition in animals that causes a partial loss of pigmentation. In 30+ years on the water, Salty Lady captain Jared Davis (who has captained hundreds of Oceanic Society whale watching trips) has never seen one like it before.

Brian Hutchinson

Brian Hutchinson is Oceanic Society's co-CEO, co-founder of the State of the World's Sea Turtles Program, and program officer of the IUCN-SSC Marine Turtle Specialist Group. Brian holds a B.A. in zoology from Connecticut College, and has been working to advance global marine conservation for more than 20 years. Brian is an avid traveler who has visited more than 45 countries and led Oceanic Society expeditions in Costa Rica, Cuba, Baja California, Indonesia, and Trinidad.