{"id":411670,"date":"2026-01-14T05:55:12","date_gmt":"2026-01-14T05:55:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/411670\/"},"modified":"2026-01-14T05:55:12","modified_gmt":"2026-01-14T05:55:12","slug":"white-whale-spotted-off-crescent-head-coast-in-unusual-summer-sighting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/411670\/","title":{"rendered":"White whale spotted off Crescent Head coast in ‘unusual’ summer sighting"},"content":{"rendered":"

Experts are asking the public for help to identify a young white whale discovered in an “unusual” sighting off the New South Wales coastline.<\/p>\n

Macquarie University whale scientist Vanessa Pirotta said it was already rare to see humpback whales off the coast in summer, but even more so to spot a white one.<\/p>\n

“This sighting is like finding a bus-sized four-leaf clover in your blue backyard,” she said.<\/p>\n

“If this is a humpback whale, it is not only rare to see a white whale, but also [to see] a humpback whale as far north in Australian waters at this time of the year.”<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Conservationists think it could be a whale seen in Australian waters three months ago, named Siale. (Supplied: Bronx Dillinger, Tax Ayre, Will Brown)<\/p>\n

Dr Pirotta said most humpbacks were currently feeding in the Southern Ocean near Antarctica ahead of migrating north.<\/p>\n

Experts are working to determine if the whale is Siale \u2014 a white juvenile<\/a> last seen in Australian waters three months ago.<\/p>\n

Dr Pirotta said if the whale seen from Crescent Head on Saturday was Siale, or a humpback, it could be a sign of sickness.<\/p>\n

“We do have some whales in Australia year-round,” she said.<\/p>\n

“We also want to learn more about its body condition \u2026 it is concerning the whale is thin.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

Experts have urged the public to report any sightings of the white whale. (Supplied: Bronx Dillinger, Tex Ayre and Will Brown submitted to ORRCA)<\/p>\n

Whale watchers urged to report sightings<\/p>\n

Dr Pirotta urged anyone who saw the whale to report their sighting to the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, marine rescue organisation ORRCA, or the White Whale Research Centre.<\/p>\n

“There may be nothing we can do to assist, but the more informed we are, the more potential actions we can take,” Dr Pirotta said.<\/p>\n

There are only two confirmed humpback whales with albinism seen off Australia’s coast.<\/p>\n

The famous white whale, Migaloo, was last spotted near New Zealand, while Siale was last seen near Australia in November.<\/p>\n

\"an<\/p>\n

Siale, a female albino humpback whale, was born near Tonga in August 2023. (Supplied: Tristin Sheen)<\/p>\n

Dr Pirotta said if the whale was Siale, it may mean she stayed in Australian waters over the summer.<\/p>\n

“If it is another whale, who is it and what kind of whale is it?” she said.<\/p>\n

Dr Pirotta explained that while it was unclear how white whales were impacted by their colouring, they provided valuable insights into migration patterns.<\/p>\n

“A white humpback whale is just like any other whale, except they lack melanin,” she said.<\/p>\n

“Maybe this whale sticks out so much that it’s a risk to predators, maybe they’re more vulnerable to sunburn \u2014 yes, whales can get sunburnt.<\/p>\n

“From a science point of view, it’s really interesting because it provides direct information on whale movements \u2026 they’re easier to spot.”<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Vanessa Pirotta says albino whales have a higher risk of attracting predators. (Supplied)<\/p>\n

Coffs Coast Wildlife Sanctuary’s Leigh Mansfield asked people looking for the whale to share their photos and videos with wildlife organisations.<\/p>\n

“We can identify the fluke, which is the tail, because they’re like a fingerprint on whales,” Mr Manfield said.<\/p>\n

“[We want to learn] where it’s going, how quickly it’s travelling, so when the authorities get on site, we can have that information.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Experts are asking the public for help to identify a young white whale discovered in an “unusual” sighting…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":411671,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[217758,64,63,33252,129934,11698,128,217755,217757,130758,217756,338],"class_list":{"0":"post-411670","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wildlife","8":"tag-albino-whale","9":"tag-au","10":"tag-australia","11":"tag-humpback-whale","12":"tag-migaloo","13":"tag-orrca","14":"tag-science","15":"tag-siale","16":"tag-whale-sighting","17":"tag-white-whale","18":"tag-white-whale-crescent-head","19":"tag-wildlife"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/411670","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=411670"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/411670\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/411671"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=411670"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=411670"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=411670"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}