Wildlife photographer N. Hayakawa is no stranger to the waters off the coast of Rausu, Japan. For nearly two decades, Hayakawa has documented the lives of land and sea animals, from the elusive Japanese dwarf flying squirrel to the majestic orcas that glide through the icy waves. But last year, the Japanese photographer came across the wildlife encounter of his dreams.

“This is the first time I’ve encountered a white orca after 15 years of photographing orcas in Rausu,” Hayakawa wrote on X.

It began with a single male orca, its cream-colored body bright against the deep blue sea. Hayakawa’s hands trembled as they reached for the camera. “My legs were shaking as I photographed the white orcas I met for the first time,” Hayakawa later wrote on Instagram. “[It] looks like a golden-ish cream-colored orca synthesized into a blue sea. I still think it was a dream.”

But it wasn’t a dream. The whale was real, and it wasn’t alone. Days later, Hayakawa returned to the same spot and spotted a second white orca — this time, a female. Both whales swam effortlessly among their typically black-and-white counterparts, their pale bodies standing out like ghosts in the water. Indeed, the Japanese often call white orcas “phantoms”.

What Makes an Orca White?

The unusual coloration of these orcas likely stems from a condition called leucism, a partial loss of pigmentation, The Dodo says. Melanin is at the center of this phenomenon. The more melanin is present, the darker the tissue will be. Unlike albinism, which results in a complete absence of melanin and often causes pink or red eyes, leucism leaves darker pigments in the eyes and sometimes faint markings on the body.

“The eyes appear black,” the photographer noted, which is why leucism is the likely culprit here.

Leucism is rare in the wild, and even rarer in orcas. While it doesn’t typically affect an animal’s health, it can make them more visible to predators. But in this case, orcas are apex predators in their ecosystems. Their only threat is from their kin, but these white orcas seemed to be accepted and protected by their pod.

Hayakawa hopes to return to the waters of Rausu to document more of these extraordinary creatures.

“I hope to discover another little white whale in the pod one day.”

A Growing Phenomenon

The two white orcas he recently photographed may be the same pair spotted in 2021 near the Kunashirskiy Strait, a 20-mile stretch of water between Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido and Russia’s Kunashir Island. As in the former case, both orcas swam effortlessly among their typically black-and-white counterparts.

The 2021 orcas included an older individual, first spotted two years prior, and a younger one that was never seen before. The younger orca had clearly visible scratch marks down its back.

White orcas were once so rare they were thought to be mythical. But in recent years, sightings have increased. Scientists are now aware of at least five white orcas alive today, including Frosty, a young orca frequently spotted off the coast of California.

“Every single time we see Frosty, it is another little victory,” said Alisa Schulman-Janiger, lead research biologist for the California Killer Whale Project.

As the white orcas disappeared into the depths, they left behind a sense of awe — and a promise that the ocean still holds secrets waiting to be discovered.