Rare white Omura’s whale spotted off Phuket, Thailand (video)

An unexpected encounter with a white Omura’s whale off the coast of Koh He in Phuket marked a potentially unique event, as it could be the first sighting of this incredibly rare species in Thailand and perhaps globally. This news was shared by Associate Professor Thon Thamrongnawasawat, a marine biologist and lecturer at Kasetsart University.

The marine biologist yesterday shared on Facebook that the marine creature, sighted on the afternoon of January 1, south of Koh He, appeared to be an Omura’s whale, not a Bruda whale. He differentiated them by stating that an Omura’s whale has a single ridge on the front of its head, in contrast to the Bruda whale, which has three.

The unusual sighting occurred at around 4pm when a person aboard a boat named Happy Ours spotted the whale accompanied by another Omura’s whale,…