A recent eight-hour wildlife-viewing boat trip off Orange County was focused on migrating gray whales until something more eye-catching to even the veteran boat captain swam by.
Capt. Todd Mansur, manning Dana Wharf Sportfishing and Whale Watching’s Ocean Adventures, said the charter was headed to the east end of Catalina Island – a popular spot to catch the southbound whales – when he spotted a pure white dolphin swimming with a squad of about 40 darker gray Risso’s dolphins.
The animal, known as Blanco to local boat captains, was a delight and special surprise for Mansur and the wildlife enthusiasts aboard.
“Blanco has zero pigmentation,” Mansur said. “He looks clean and fresh because he’s leucistic; he doesn’t have scar tissue like the other dolphins. He looks like a beluga (whale).”
Leucism is a condition in which a reduction in melanin causes a partial loss of pigmentation in an animal resulting in white, pale or patchy skin coloration.
Risso’s typically feed on all sorts of squid, and sometimes the hooks of larger squids cut into the dolphins’ skin, leaving a gray scar. Some dolphins are covered in scars, but Blanco is nearly spotless.
“I’ve seen him only twice,” said Mansur, who’s been on the water for Dana Wharf for decades. “We saw the Risso’s, but I had no idea I’d see Blanco. As soon as I turned my head, there he was. I get to see everyday animals, but when you see a rarity, it gives an element of surprise – it’s a show-stopper.”
The dolphin, believed to be the only one so devoid of coloring swimming off Southern California, was first recorded in 2020, off Dana Point by Happywhale.com.
He was seen again on May 15, 2021 – ironically, the whale watching charter’s 50th anniversary – and has been seen visiting from time to time in spots from Dana Point north to Long Beach. He’s also been seen at the southeast end of San Clemente Island to the northeast side of Catalina Island.
Another exciting dolphin that also appears off Orange County and was first spotted in 2006 by naturalist Mark Tyson is Patches. He’s a bottlenose dolphin and is similar in size to Blanco. Patches is also leucistic, but has some pink and dark spots. He, too, is a show-stopper for people who get a chance to see him.
Risso’s and bottlenose dolphins are similar in size and the two species are also the only ones that co-exist together in waters off Southern California, Mansur said, adding that he’s seen pods of the two together at times. Unlike the common bottlenose dolphins that have a sort of beak, Risso’s dolphins have a more rounded head and no pronounced beak.
Seeing the two dolphins together in one group would be a real treat, Mansur added.