The marine mammal was photographed off the coast of Eden on Tuesday morning

Jun 19, 2014 09:30 GMT  ·  By

Earlier this week, i.e. on Tuesday morning, at about 8 a.m. local time, a rare white whale was spotted and photographed while swimming not far from Australia's coastline.

The marine mammal is a humpback whale named Migaloo, and, until not very long ago, it was believed to be the world's only white animal of its kind.

Thus, it was only 2011 that another all-while humpback whale was spotted for the first time ever. This second all-white marine mammal was a juvenile when it was seen, and some believe it to be Migaloo's offspring.

Information shared with the public says that, at the time it was spotted and caught on camera, the extremely rare white whale was swimming in the waters off the coast of Eden, a town in New South Wales.

According to ABC News, the folks who got to see the whale say that, as far as they could tell, it was heading north. It is believed that, all things considered, Migaloo will make several other appearances in the days to come.

By the looks of it, this sighting in Australia, close to Eden, marks the first occasion since the beginning of the year until present day that the rare white whale is spotted going about its business in the ocean.

Talking to the press, Oskar Peterson with the White Whale Research Center has explained that Migaloo has several favorite routes that it travels on. Hence, it is possible to make educated guesses about where it might pop up next.

“The timing is correct for Migaloo, who has been known to go past Eden at this time of year. I can confirm a two-week window for Cape Byron to the Gold Coast, being the last week of June and first week of July.”

“Migaloo was sighted on the Gold Coast on July 1, 2009, and there have been other sightings around that two-week window over the years. So sometime over the next few weeks, possibly next week, he will go past Sydney,” Oskar Peterson has added.

Besides, this extremely rare marine mammal tends to glow in the water in a color best described as fluorescent blue. Consequently, chances that it will slip by unnoticed while people are busy pouring themselves a cup of tea are pretty much slim to none.

According to wildlife researchers, the whale is a male. Because it is an incredibly rare specimen, it is currently protected by special rules and regulations saying that people are not allowed to try and interact with it. The goal is to make sure Migaloo is not harassed by overzealous wildlife enthusiasts.