Pinkie, the dolphin, impressed Louisiana locals and visitors for more than a decade. Although other dolphins can have pink bellies, Pinkie is all pink from snout to tail. Scientists hypothesize that Pinkie has albinism, a hereditary disorder in which a dolphin is born lacking the pigment necessary to give its skin its natural gray hue.
Pinkie, the iconic pink dolphin, is introduced. She has patrolled the seas of Louisiana for years, startling countless observers with her unusual skin tone.
Dolphins typically have pink bellies, but pink dolphin bodies are quite uncommon. Scientists hypothesize that pink dolphins have albinism, a hereditary disorder in which their bodies do not manufacture the typical chemicals that color the skin gray. Pinkie is a completely normal dolphin, except for the fact that her eyes do not fully open and her color.
Nobody has been able to confirm Pinkie’s gender until very recently; while many assumed she was female based on her color alone, it wasn’t until last year that someone was able to photograph Pinkie during the mating season. The charter boat’s captain, Erik Rue, took photographs of her swimming in Lake Charles, Louisiana.
Although they’ve been acquaintances since 2007 (he claims Pinkie is an inquisitive dolphin that swims as near as 10 feet to his boat), in 2015 he claimed to have discovered Pinkie is a female. He told ABC News, “I’ve taken a ton of photos of her mating, proving she’s a girl.” “I believe I was the first person to see her, and I know I was the first to photograph her.”
Now that her gender has been determined, we have a new question: Is Pinkie pregnant? Who knows, baby pink dolphins are imminent.
