WATCH: 'Extremely Rare' Ghost Whale Spotted Off California Coast

An "extremely rare" white killer whale was spotted by a whale watching tour of school children on Sunday morning near Catalina Island. According to SF Gate, this unique creature is no stranger to local researchers. Referred to as "Frosty," the apperance of the small killer whale was first recorded in 2019 by a Monterey Bay whale watching group. Since then, Frosty has caused quite the commotion every time he/she appears with their pod. Newport Landing and Davey’s Locker Whale Watching programs manager Jessica Roame explained how boat passengers reacted when they saw the strangely-pigmented whale for the first time.

“We had a captain and a crew member up in the wheelhouse just scanning the water with their binoculars for any sign of these whales for about an hour. All of a sudden, the passengers just started screaming.” Pacific Offshore Expeditions were able to capture video of Frosty and shared this footage to Instagram.

"Frosty and family, traveling north yesterday! This uniquely pigmented Killer Whale was born mid-2019, and probably has Chediak Higashi syndrome. Other Killer Whales with this disease have been short lived, so every time we have a re-sighting of Frosty we are relieved to see they are beating the odds! This Orca pod is composed of matriarch CA216 and most of her “kids”, including one grandchild!"

SF Gate mentioned that these whales do not have migration patterns, meaning that there is no telling when Frosty will make his/her way back to the coast!