Meet Migaloo: An Albino Whale

(credit: migaloo.com.au)

A famous albino humpback whale is migrating again this year past the east coast of Australia, up to the warm, tropical waters off Queensland.

The whale is affectionately known as Migaloo, the aboriginal term for "white fella." (His name was chosen based on advice from Aboriginal elders in the Hervey Bay area of Queeensland.)

Migaloo sightings are an annual event for Australians, as he and his pod swims past Australian beaches. Researchers first spotted him as a juvenile in 1991 near Byron Bay. He is now believed to be in his 20s.

Migaloo is so popular that he has his own website where whale watchers can report sightings. The site is part of a mission to support education about and conservation of marine life.

Migaloo was thought to be the only all-white Humpback whale in existence until September 2011, when footage was released of a white humpback calf. This second white whale is known as MJ, or Migaloo Junior.

You can check out a video of Migaloo on CNN's website. 

Via Gadling.