Boaters spot a rare pink dolphin and the extraordinary images of this lovely creature go viral!
Our seas and oceans never cease to amaze us for the variety and beauty of the creatures that populate them.
There are still species to be discovered, some of them legends, others very popular but difficult to spot and photograph.
One of these is Pinkie, the famous pink dolphin that has been plying the waters around Lake Charles in Louisiana for years.
Now, thanks to the magnificent close-up photos taken from a tourist boat, the questions around this magnificent and mysterious example seem to be answered.
via ABC News
It is no surprise that the area in question is the destination of these aquatic mammals given its geographical location.
In fact, the city is in fact located on the banks of the Calcasieu River in the Gulf of Mexico, near the Prien and Charles Lakes.
For some time now, Pinkie has been whizzing across the surface of these waters, to the complete astonishment of tourists, not only for the joy of seeing a dolphin so close to the boats emerge from the water but also for this dolphin's particular pink color.
Normally, this color concentrates mainly on a dolphin's belly, but this local "mascot" has its entire body tinted with this incredible color. Marine biologists theorize that Pinkie is a rare specimen of an albino dolphin, therefore, its color is due to a genetic defect in the uniform production of the classic gray pigment.
The theory would be based on the fact that Pinkie's eyes do not open completely, just like in subjects suffering from albinism but, other than this detail, the delightful pink fish is nevertheless a dolphin like all the others.
Little or nothing was known about Pinkie's sex until Captain Erik Rue, operating a charter boat, managed to capture some pictures of the dolphin during the mating season.
In fact, from what it is possible to understand from the captured images, Pinkie is, indeed, a "she".
These photos taken by Captain Rue are unique because no one else before him had ever managed to take so many photos and immortalize such intimate moments in the life of this legendary animal.
Once the mystery about the "gender" of one of the most famous dolphins in the world had been solved, we immediately asked ourselves if perhaps, Pinkie was pregnant.
In all probability, tourists will be able to admire not one but maybe even two or more pink baby dolphins, assuming that the young inherit the same peculiarity from their mother.
We just have to wait for the next sightings and ... we hope --- it's female!
