Louisiana Boaters Capture A Very Rare Sight: A Pink Dolphin Swimming In A Louisiana River

Aug 21, 2018 by apost team

Meet Pinkie the dolphin, a pink-skinned dolphin who prowls and plays along the Louisiana coast.

For over the past decade, Pinkie the dolphin has been wowing residents and visitors in Louisiana. While some dolphins can have pink bellies, Pinkie is completely pink from nose to tail. Scientists speculate that Pinkie has albinism, a genetic condition in which a dolphin is born without the pigment needed to give their skin its normal gray color.

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The researchers can’t really know for sure, however, without conducting genetic tests on Pinkie. Albino dolphins are rare; only fifteen have so far been reported over the years. Aside from her coloring and the fact that her eyes are always partially closed, Pinkie is a normal and healthy dolphin.

People have also long wondered about what sex Pinkie was. While the dolphin’s coloring led many to assume Pinkie was female, nobody really knew for sure. In 2015, Captain Erik Rue, who commands a charter boat, solved the mystery simply by taking pictures of Pinkie during mating season. Her behavior proved her to be a female.

Captain Rue claims to be both the first person to see Pinkie and the first person to take pictures of her. He has seen her since she first appeared in 2007 as a calf swimming alongside her mother, a bottlenose dolphin with normal coloring.

Captain Rue has also described Pinkie as a very curious dolphin who has sometimes come within ten feet of his boat. In August 2017, Bridget Boudreaux claimed to have seen Pinkie while boating in the Calcasieu Ship Channel off the coast of Hackberry. She was understandably startled by Pinkie’s color – and flabbergasted to see a second pink dolphin swimming alongside her.

Unfortunately, while she did try to video both dolphins, she was not able to video Pinkie’s companion. Some have speculated that the second pink dolphin is Pinkie’s calf. 

Have you seen or heard of Pinkie the dolphin? Are you as amazed as we here at APost are? Please tell us about your experiences in the comments section, and don't forget to show Pinkie to your dolphin-loving friends!