For nearly twenty years, Japanese wildlife photographer N. Hayakawa has devoted their career to documenting animals in their natural habitats.
From the forests to the sea, Hayakawa has seen many remarkable creatures — but nothing prepared them for what surfaced off the coast of Rausu, Hokkaido.
Among a pod of familiar black-and-white orcas appeared something extraordinary: a cream-colored orca gliding through the deep blue water.
“This is the first time I’ve ever encountered a white orca in 15 years of photographing them here,” Hayakawa wrote on X.
See the white orca here:
Shaking with excitement, they raised their camera and began snapping photos, capturing a sight that felt almost dreamlike.
“It looked like a golden-cream orca painted into the sea,” Hayakawa later said. “I still can’t believe it was real.”
You can watch the whale swim with his friends here:
But it was real — and the surprises didn’t stop there.
On a later trip back to the same waters, Hayakawa spotted another white orca, this time a female. Once again, they quickly photographed her, noting one striking feature: her dark eyes.
This detail suggested the whales were not albino, but rather affected by leucism — a genetic condition that causes partial loss of pigmentation while leaving the eyes dark.
Unlike full albinism, which often results in pale pink or red eyes, leucism produces a creamy coat with subtle markings.
Though such conditions can sometimes make animals more vulnerable in the wild, these two white orcas appeared to be thriving — fully accepted and protected within their pod.
In the days that followed, Hayakawa kept returning to the coast, hoping for more glimpses of the rare pair. Watching them swim in perfect harmony with their companions left the photographer with a profound sense of wonder.
Wildlife photography is full of surprises, but these encounters were unlike anything Hayakawa had ever experienced. While they continue to photograph other local species — from orcas to the tiny Japanese dwarf flying squirrel — the image of those cream-colored whales keeps drawing them back to the sea.
And now, with one white male and one white female in the pod, Hayakawa can’t help but dream of someday spotting a little white calf swimming at their side.
To follow more of Hayakawa’s breathtaking work, you can find them on Instagram and X.
