White orca Frosty, now 4, spotted off California with transient pod CA216

A light-skin orca dubbed Frosty was spotted Monday, April 29, off Newport Beach frolicking alongside a pod of killer whales that always brings a buzz when it makes a surprise appearance off of the Southern California coast.

“It’s incredible just to see them, in general,” said Newport Landing Capt. Dani Fasser, who first spotted the pod just a few miles from shore.

When Fasser noticed a lighter skin tone as the orca emerged from under the ocean’s surface, creating a fluorescent green glow underwater, she said she knew it was the moment she’s waited a long time to see.

“I was like. ‘Oh my gosh,’ it’s happening. It’s finally happening,” she said of the Frosty sighting.

Frosty, which has a white-gray pigmentation instead of the typical black with white patches, was first spotted off Orange County in 2019, just a few months old. 

Researchers have kept a close eye on the distinct orca, wondering if it would survive, said Newport Coastal Adventure Capt. Ryan Lawler.

Frosty and the pod were also spotted last year, almost to the week, off of Palos Verdes. Frosty through the years has been seen as far north as Vancouver Island and south as Coronado Island, Lawler said.

The pod Frosty was spotted include some of the California transient pod known as CA216, different from the dolphin-hunting orcas that showed up earlier this year. 

The almost-albino orca most likely has a rare genetic disease. The orca’s appearance has changed through the years – it had a nearly completely white-gray tone when first spotted and now has a darker dorsal fin and face.

While other orcas with the same discoloration have died at a young age, Frosty is now about 4 years old, so researchers will collect imagery to check on his health.

“It’s exciting because it’s an orca that we’ve all been holding our breath about,” Lawler said. “It really is a celebrity orca sighting.”