It’s Barbie season – so, not surprising that a rare pink dolphin was spotted swimming in Louisiana waters last week.
Thurman Gustin, a Houston local, shared in a Facebook post that he saw two pink dolphins in Cameron Parish near the Gulf of Mexico on July 12, while fishing at Old River Pass.
Gustin’s video, however, shows only one pink dolphin briefly coming out of the water before diving back under.
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It is not yet clear which dolphin Gustin saw, but albino bottlenose dolphins have been spotted in the area, with one seen often enough to have earned the nickname “Pinky”. Scientist Greg Barsh previously told National Geographic that albino dolphins have a genetic mutation that causes their skin to appear pinkish and white.
This is genetic mutation is so rare that there have only been about 20 or so spottings recorded since the mid-20thcentury, according to the Blue World Institute.
Amazon river dolphins can also be pink but are only found in freshwater, according to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). They are found throughout much of the Amazon and Orinoco river basins in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, and Venezuela.
