Everyone’s favourite albino humpback whale Migaloo has been MIA since 2020, but 2 recent sightings of a rare white whale off the Queensland coast have his fans waiting on tenterhooks to find out if it’s him… Macquarie University whale expert Vanessa Pirotta says the vision of the whale taken by a tourist flying over the Great Barrier Reef is “promising”, but they “can’t confirm until we’re 100%”. Migaloo’s 3-year absence had led to fears that he might have died, and Pirotta says, “if it is him, it would be incredible that this one iconic whale has avoided being seen for so long along one of the busiest coastlines in the world”. Regardless, Pirotta called the white sighting “a win for citizen science”, and she’s encouraged others who think they’ve spotted Migaloo this whale season to contact the White Whale Research Centre.

Looking for the backstory to the annual whale migration along Australia’s coast? Of course you are, and we’ve got you covered in this Squiz Shortcut.