Lifestyle Pets Rare White Orca Calf Spotted By Excited Whale Watchers Off Washington Coast Tl'uk is a grayish-white Bigg's killer whale that was first spotted in November 2018 By Kelli Bender Kelli Bender Kelli Bender is the Pets Editor at PEOPLE. She has been working at PEOPLE since 2013. Her work has previously appeared on MTV, The Frisky, Vice, and Best Friends Magazine. People Editorial Guidelines Published on October 15, 2019 03:37PM EDT Photo: Samantha Murphy Moby Dick better swim aside, because there is a new white whale captivating animal lovers. According to CNN, the whale watchers and tourists aboard an Island Adventures Whale Watching boat near Anacortes, Washington, spotted a rare, white orca calf on Saturday. Locals and whale enthusiasts may already be acquainted with the baby whale. His name is Tl’uk, which means “moon” in Coastal Salish, and he is part of a pod that routinely travels by the waters near the Washington city. The grayish-white Bigg’s killer whale was first spotted in November of last year and is believed to be around a year old. Alethea Leddy Russia Starting to Release Captive Whales From ‘Whale Jail’ Following International Outcry Erin Gless, the lead naturalist at Island Adventures Whale Watching, an eco touring agency, told CNN the whale is not albino, and that experts are unsure how the calf ended up with its unique coloring. Samantha Murphy Gless added that whale experts were initially concerned that the young whale’s coloring was linked to poor health, but, since that calf continues to gain weight and grow, that doesn’t seem to be the case. Southern Resident Killer Whale Population Drops to 73 as 3 Orcas Are Presumed Dead Samantha Murphy This is welcomed news, especially to Washington whale watchers, who have witnessed the population of the southern resident killer whales, native to the North American waters in the northeastern part of Pacific Ocean, drastically decline in recent years. According to recent data from the Center for Whale Research, the southern resident killer whale population is down to just 73 members and is considered “extremely endangered.”