Pinky is an extremely rare bottlenose dolphin found in Calcasieu Lake. (Photo : Calcasieu Charter Service)
Pinky, the Louisiana bottlenose dolphin with a distinct cotton candy pink color has now resurfaced where this extremely rare marine creature is now going viral across social media this week.
This unique dolphin was first seen in 2007 along the Calcasieu River by Erik Rue who is a charter boat captain, working for the Calcasieu Charter Service. Scientist Greg Barsh says that Pinky is most likey an albino, where he's involved in the genetic study behind color pigmentation at the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology located in Alabama.
The two obvious signs of albinism are reddish eyes and blood vessels, in which Pinky both possesses which are evident from the pale almost translucent skin that lacks much pigment. Albinism is caused by cells that normally produce the pigment, melanin found in skin, hair and eye color where these cells fail to generate them regularly or not able to produce them at all. Apart from this, this is also caused by one mutation found in several genes.
Biologists speculate that Pinky's parents could have looked like regular dolphins however, each of them must have carried a single copy of this mutated gene. When two copies of this mutated gene are combined, these mutations produce the dolphin's very distinct color.
Scientists have known and observed Pinky for about eight years already, however, albinism can also arrive at several different health issues in the creature. Melanin is a highly crucial pigment that provides protection against the sun's harmful UV rays and it also plays a pivotal role regarding eyesight, where many albinos have vision problems.
Barsh adds that spotting an albino animal in the wilderness is extremely rare. Most of them are typically found under laboratory conditions or as pets, that do not need eyesight to survive.
Pinky's future offspring are highly unlikely to possess the same shade of bubblegum pink, but this remains to be seen.
For Pinky's babies to become all pink as well means, Pinky would have to find a mate that is also another albino dolphin. In another scenario, if Pinky mated with a regular dolphin that is also carrying the mutated gene, their offspring possesses a 50 percent chance of inheriting this color.
