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The MERR Institute joins WBOC DelmarvaLife’s hosts Lisa Bryant and Steve Monz to explain MERR’s role in preserving our local ecology and discuss the recent sightings of a rare albino dolphin.<\/p>\n
WBOC’s Delmarva Life
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Beachgoers along the Delaware and Maryland coasts have had a special visitor this month, with multiple sightings of a rarely-seen albino dolphin.<\/p>\n
Suzanne Thurman, Executive Director of the Marine Education, Research & Rehabilitation Institute, told WBOC’s DelmarvaLife they began tracking a pair of dolphins a few weeks ago, one of which was curiously white.<\/p>\n
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An albino dolphin spotted along the Lewes coastline in July 2026<\/p>\n
MERR Institute\/Troy Roach<\/p>\n
Thuman said through picture and video analysis, they’ve determined that one is a leucistic juvenile dolphin.<\/p>\n
“What we were seeing, when they were in the Delaware waters… is has decreased pigmentation, but not a complete lack of it, so they still have dark eyes.”<\/p>\n
Thurman said the reports of the dolphins started in Bethany, and worked their way up to Lewes, but now are coming from the Virginia Eastern Shore areas near Chincoteague.<\/p>\n
Thurman said the fact they’re in a pair is likely by design.<\/p>\n
“There are theories that say that the other dolphins who have normal pigmentation protect this lighter dolphin, and try to keep it as safe as they can.”<\/p>\n
If you do want to try to spot the dolphins, you’re asked to take photos or videos from at least 300′ away, so you’re not disturbing or harassing free animals.<\/p>\n