- A group of tourists on a charter boat near Phuket spotted the mysterious all-white creature while on a trip on New Year’s Day
- They filmed a pair of rare Omura’s whales which were swimming together in the Andaman Sea and one of them was completely white
- The footage was shared with officials and environmental conservation organization ThaiWhales
The world’s rarest whale has been captured on film for only the second time in history off the coast of Thailand.
A group of tourists on a charter boat near Phuket spotted the mysterious all-white creature while on a trip on New Year’s Day.
They filmed a pair of rare Omura’s whales which were swimming together in the Andaman Sea and one of them was completely white.
The footage was shared with officials and environmental conservation organization ThaiWhales.
It posted the video on Facebook on January 5 and wrote the ‘groundbreaking report’ was a ‘first-of-its-kind and exciting marine discovery’.
The world’s rarest whale has been captured on film for only the second time in history off the coast of Thailand
A group of tourists on a charter boat near Phuket spotted the mysterious all-white creature while on a trip on New Year’s Day
Footage shows the unique all-white creature swimming alongside the charter boat as the tourists watch on in amazement.
‘Wow,’ one person is heard saying. While another person says: ‘Oh my god!’
It is the first time an all-white Omura’s whale has been spotted in Thailand and could possibly be the first sighting ever reported, according to Thon Thamrongnawasawat from ThaiWhales.
The all-white creature was reported to Thailand’s Department of Marine and Coastal Resources which launched a search for the unique animal.
After days of searching, officials said they did not find it but had spotted at least four other Omura’s whales in the area.
They were swimming and feeding near the Phi Phi Islands, Honeymoon Island and Coral Island.
Omura’s whales are the latest species of the mammal to be identified, according to experts from the Whale and Dolphin Conservation.
They filmed a pair of rare Omura’s whales which were swimming together in the Andaman Sea and one of them was completely white
It is the first time an all-white Omura’s whale has been spotted in Thailand and could possibly be the first sighting ever reported, according to Thon Thamrongnawasawat from ThaiWhales
They were first seen in 2003 as dead corpses before they were spotted alive for the first time in 2015.
The creatures have long and thin bodies which makes them appear ‘snake-like’ and their dorsal fin is ‘small and strongly hooked or curved’.
Omura’s whales also have a single ridge on the front of their heads and they can grow to be up to 40 feet long and weigh as much as 44,000 pounds.
They usually inhabit tropical and warm seas.
So little is known about Omura’s whales that scientists are unsure of how many exist and are still learning about their distribution, population sizes, and possible variations in appearance.
