For nearly two decades, wildlife photographer N. Hayakawa has documented Japan’s land and marine animals, but last year’s encounter off the coast of Rausu in Hokkaido stood apart.
While filming a pod of orcas, Hayakawa spotted an all-white male — the first in 15 years of photographing the species.
“My legs were shaking as I photographed the white orca for the first time,” Hayakawa wrote on Instagram. “It looked like a golden-cream-colored whale in the blue sea. I still think it was a dream.”
A review of the images confirmed the sighting. The male swam alongside typically pigmented pod members and appeared unaffected by its distinctive coloring.
On a subsequent visit, Hayakawa encountered a second white orca, this time a female with deep black eyes, suggesting a rare condition known as leucism.
Unlike albinism, which results in a complete absence of melanin including pale eyes, leucism partially reduces pigmentation. The condition explains the orcas’ cream-colored bodies while retaining dark eyes.
Although rare coloration can make wild animals more vulnerable, the two orcas appeared fully integrated within their pod. Hayakawa observed them swimming calmly among the group, underscoring the species’ strong social bonds.
Despite photographing a wide range of wildlife, including Japanese dwarf flying squirrels, Hayakawa said the white orcas continue to draw them back to Hokkaido’s waters.
With one male and one female documented, the photographer hopes another pale member of the pod may one day surface.
AloJapan.com