A Pink Whale Was Spotted Off The Coast Of Newfoundland & There Are Theories About It

What a sight this is! A pink whale in Newfoundland was spotted in the waters off the coast and it's pretty spectacular. There are some theories about why this aquatic animal has such a unique hue to it.

At the beginning of July, Lorna Baker posted videos on Facebook after she spotted the rosy-coloured mammal swimming in the waters off of Long Beach, Newfoundland.

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She told Narcity that it was unbelievable to see.

In the videos, a whale can be seen breaching the surface multiple times and it looks like it's got a pink tone to it when it comes out of the water.

Baker mentioned that if she didn't take two videos of the animal she wouldn't have told anybody about it.

"They'd never have believed me," she said.

You can also hear in the videos people on the beach making sure that others saw that the whale was a different colour as well and it wasn't just their eyes playing a trick on them.

They also discuss what kind of creature it could be. Some thought it might be a beluga.

Baker said that this is something she will probably never see again so she's glad she caught it on camera and is able to share it.

Jack Lawson, a research scientist with Canada's Department of Fisheries and Oceans, told the CBC that it was probably a minke whale that was spotted in the water.

He said that he's seen pictures and videos recently of a minke smashing down on its belly while feeding.

Then, when it rolled onto its side, there was a pinkish hue on the whale's underside.

"So I think, like us, if we jumped off a diving board many times and landed on our bellies we'd get this nice pink undercoating," Lawson said.

He also said that the colour could be because the animal was exerting itself.

That would cause blood to flow near the surface of the skin to cool off.

"In this case, it could be you're also seeing the pinkish skin coloration between the pleats on the belly as it's warm," Lawson said.

With oceans surrounding Canada, there are lots of whale sightings from coast to coast to coast.

One woman in Newfoundland had the best reaction to seeing a beluga while kayaking. She called it a dream come true.

A humpback swam all the way up the St. Lawrence to Montreal but was tragically killed.

Next year, a sanctuary for once-captive whales is set to open in the waters off of Nova Scotia. There will be a visitor centre, a trail and viewing spots to see the freed animals in the wild.