Rare ALBINO whale is spotted off the Mexican coast

The real life Moby Dick! Rare ALBINO whale is spotted off the coast of Mexico – but is it the same creature dubbed ‘gallon of milk’ in 2008?

  • Rare albino was filmed by Manuel Gonzalez, 35, while boating with friends 
  • This is only the third time a white whale has been spotted off the Mexican coast
  • Whale-watching tours are popular in the region with tourists and locals alike
  • Sighting is a ‘dream come true’ for keen whale enthusiast Mr Gonzalez 
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Incredible footage has revealed an extremely rare white whale spotted swimming off of the coast of Mexico.

The magnificent creature brings to mind Moby Dick, the ferocious sea monster obsessively hunted by Captain Ahab in Herman Melville’s 1851 novel.

The marine mammal may be the same one seen in the area twice before, which has been nicknamed ‘gallon of milk’ after its unusual albino skin.

Manuel Gonzalez, 35, was taking friends – including four marine biologists – out in his boat when they spied the remarkable creature.


Incredible footage has revealed an extremely rare white whale spotted swimming off of the coast of Mexico. Manuel Gonzalez and friends snapped the rare albino whale (pictured) from their boat while sailing off of the southern coast of Mexico’s Baja California peninsula

Albino whales are extremely rare. The white colouration is caused by a genetic mutation that prevents pigment-producing proteins from being produced.

The clip was shot off of the coast of Magdalena Bay, in the southern part of Mexico’s Baja California peninsula. 

‘At first we thought it could be a very whitish grey whale but in this case it was a 100 percent albinism,’ said Mr Gonzalez.

‘When I saw this whale I couldn’t believe that my dream was coming true. 

‘I’ve seen albino animals only in pictures, documentaries and in science articles, but I always said in my mind “I wish I could see that for real someday” ‘.  

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Two other reported sightings of an albino whale in this region have been recorded by the Mexican authorities.

The leviathan, first spotted in 2008, was given the nickname ‘Galón de Leche’ – which means ‘gallon of milk’ – in reference to its skin colour.

During a second sighting in 2017, the whale was reportedly accompanied by a calf, dubbed ‘Costalito de Sal’, or ‘little sack of salt’, another reference to its skin tone.

Whether the whale Mr Gonzalez saw this time is also Galón de Leche is not certain. 


California grey whales are often spotted when they surface to breathe. Albino whale sightings, however, are extremely rare – this is only the region’s third on record


The marine mammal may be the same one seen in the area twice before, which has been nicknamed ‘gallon of milk’ after its unusual albino skin


 The leviathan, first spotted in 2008, was given the nickname ‘ in reference to its skin colour. This image shows the most recent sighting of an albino whale in the region’s waters as it breaches the surface to breathe through its blowholes


The magnificent creature brings to mind Moby Dick , the ferocious sea monster obsessively hunted by Captain Ahab in Herman Melville’s 1851 novel. This artist’s impression captures the two protagonists of the book in their final confrontation  

Unlike Moby Dick and Captain Ahab, Galón de Leche and other whales visiting the Baja California coast have little to fear from fishermen. 

‘Where the whales are, no one can fish during whale season,’ Mr Gonzalez said. 

Instead, local fishermen switch to lucrative whale-watching tours during the winter when the creatures are most likely to appear.

‘That helps the ocean for some months – less fishing means more live fish swimming in the ocean,’ Mr Gonzalez added.

Mr Gonzales runs his own business taking tourists on whale-watching excursions and says he enjoys taking friends out on similar trips on his days off.

‘I really enjoy my job, so I look for any excuse to go there,’ he said.

Every time I go to see whales is incredible and every day I learn something new about them.’


Manuel Gonzalez, 35 (pictured), was taking friends – including four marine biologists – out in his boat when they spied the remarkable creature 


Whales are often spied off of the coast of Mexico’s Baja California Sur, where fishermen trade trawling for running whale-watching tours during the winter months. California grey whales migrate down from Alaska’s eastern coast to the balmier waters of Mexico each winter

WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT CALIFORNIA GREY WHALES?


A grey whale breaches the water’s surface in a lagoon on the coast of Mexico 

These marine mammals can grow up to 50 feet (15 metres) in length. 

Typically they weigh around 70,000 lbs (32,000 kg).

They are commonly spotted surfacing to breathe through their blowholes.

Grey whales eat by filtering food out of the water close to the sea floor.

The backs of grey whales are often covered with parasitic creatures like barnacles, making them look like crusty rocks.

Grey whales are among the world’s greatest migrators, journeying annually from Alaskan waters to the warmer Mexican coast every winter. 

While once a target of extensive hunting in the early 20th century that brought them close to extinction, they have since been removed from the US endangered species list following legal protections that have allowed their populations to recover 

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