In 2007, a charter boat captain on Lake Charles in Louisiana had a bit of a shock when a baby dolphin surfaced—and it was pink.
“It was absolutely, stunningly pink,” Erik Rue, the captain, said in 2007. “I had never seen anything like it. It’s the same color throughout the whole body. It looks like it just came out of a paint booth.”
Since then, “Pinkie” has become a bit of a local sensation. Rue actually takes people on chartered boat trips in hopes of seeing her. But besides ferrying around customers, Rue has kept a sharp eye on her.
“I believe I’m [the] first one who saw her and I know I’m the first one to take pictures of her,” Rue told ABC. “I’ve learned a lot since I’ve spend [sic] a lot of time following her around.”
Thanks to his attentiveness, Rue has solved one of the mysteries surrounding the dolphin: her sex. A couple weeks ago, he spotted Pinkie mating, after some observation, discovered she’s, well, a she. “I’ve taken a ton of pictures of her mating and it proved she’s a female,” he said.
But why is she pink?
Rue now wonders if Pinkie is pregnant—and if so, what color her calf will be. Of course, no one is sure why Pinkie is the color she is. Rue initially thought she might be albino, but now isn’t as certain because she isn’t as white as the other known albino dolphins.
“Dolphins have pink bellies, so I just kind of started of thinking that this is a genetic glitch,” he said. “If it was albino I believe it would be white. I’ve changed what I thought over time, as I analyzed the pictures I have. Other than it being pink and her eyes not opening all the way, it’s a perfectly normal dolphin and does all the things the rest of them do.
“It’s interesting to know things like that exist in the world and it’s really beautiful to see that.”
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Feature Image: Erik Rue/Snopes
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