Japanese wildlife photographer Tokuyuki Hayakawa photographed two unusually pale killer whales near Rausu, Hokkaido, on June 17, 2024. The cream-white orcas were swimming with an estimated 20–30 normally colored whales. Video accompanying the photographs supports that the animals were real, although no laboratory test has confirmed why they are pale.
What Hayakawa saw
Hayakawa has photographed orcas around Rausu for about 15 years. He told PetaPixel in 2025 that this was his first encounter with a white orca there. The circulated photograph was identified by a Snopes fact-check syndicated by Yahoo Tech as having been taken near Rausu on June 17, 2024.
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Two cream-colored animals—described in coverage as one male and one female—were traveling with a much larger pod of normally patterned killer whales. Hayakawa later described the moment as so startling that his legs were shaking. He compared one whale’s appearance to a golden-cream color set against the blue sea and said it still felt like a dream.
PetaPixel reported that Hayakawa spends roughly 40–50 days each year in the remote Rausu region, attributing that figure to Studio Persol. His long familiarity with the local orcas makes the sighting notable, but it does not by itself establish the animals’ genetic condition.
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Was the ghostly orca photograph real?
The still image prompted online comments asking whether it was fake, composited or altered in Photoshop. Hayakawa said the images had not been edited. PetaPixel also reported accompanying video of the pale whales, and that moving footage is the strongest evidence cited publicly that the encounter was genuine rather than a manipulated still.
That evidence supports describing the sighting as reported authentic or video-backed. It does not amount to an independent image-forensics report or a biological examination. No cited genetic test, tissue sample or peer-reviewed study has confirmed the identity or pigmentation mechanism of these two whales.
Rank #2
Are the whales albino or leucistic?
Coverage identifies leucism as the leading explanation, not a confirmed diagnosis. Leucism is a partial reduction or absence of pigmentation in the skin, hair or feathers; affected animals can retain normally dark eyes. Albinism involves a complete lack of melanin and commonly produces very pale coloration with pink or reddish eyes because pigment is also absent from the eyes.
| Feature | Leucism | Albinism | What is established here |
|---|---|---|---|
| How pigmentation changes | Partial loss or reduction of pigment | Complete lack of melanin | The whales appeared cream-white; the reports do not provide a formal diagnosis |
| Typical eye appearance | Eyes may remain dark | Eyes are often pale, pink or red | At least one whale was described as having dark eyes, which is consistent with leucism |
| Evidence needed for certainty | Detailed physical, genetic or veterinary examination | Detailed physical, genetic or veterinary examination | No independent genetic test or peer-reviewed biological assessment was cited |
Because the reports describe appearance rather than a laboratory result, “likely leucistic” is more accurate than “albino” or “definitively leucistic.” Lighting, distance and seawater can also affect how a whale’s color appears in a photograph.
Rank #3
Where and when did the sighting happen?
- Location: waters off Rausu, on Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido.
- Date identified for the circulated photograph: June 17, 2024, according to the Snopes fact-check syndicated by Yahoo Tech in 2025.
- Animals: two cream-white orcas traveling with an estimated pod of 20–30 normally colored killer whales.
- Photographer: Tokuyuki Hayakawa, who had photographed Rausu orcas for approximately 15 years before this encounter.
PetaPixel described the images as coming from the preceding summer and reported that Hayakawa returned to the area and continued seeing the pale whales. The differing descriptions concern the publication and reporting timeline; the fact-check supplies the specific June 17, 2024 date for the widely circulated image.
What camera captured the image?
The Snopes fact-check identified the camera used for the circulated photograph as a Canon EOS R6 Mark II. That equipment detail explains how the image could be recorded in demanding marine conditions, but the camera model does not verify the whales’ coloration or establish a biological diagnosis.
Rank #4
Why this encounter matters
White-looking orcas are visually conspicuous because killer whales normally have sharply contrasting black-and-white markings. Finding two pale individuals in the same pod is therefore an unusual field observation, particularly for a photographer who had spent many seasons watching the same region.
At the same time, the public evidence has clear limits. The reports do not establish how common pale orcas are, whether the two animals are related, how old they are, or whether their coloration affects health, camouflage or survival. No independently published prevalence estimate or genetic frequency was cited for these whales.
Quick Recap
How to describe the sighting accurately
- Use “two cream-white or pale orcas photographed near Rausu, Hokkaido, in June 2024.”
- Say the photographs were accompanied by video and that Hayakawa said they were not edited.
- Describe leucism as the leading explanation, while noting that it remains unconfirmed.
- Do not call the animals definitively albino without evidence about their eyes, melanin production or genetics.
- Do not present the image as scientifically authenticated by a laboratory or independent forensic report; none was cited in the published coverage.
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