Rare pink dolphins seen swimming in Louisiana channel

A couple was out fishing in a channel in Louisiana, USA, when they caught sight of a pair of rare pink dolphins, Smithsonian Magazine reports.

"We were both freaking out," said Thurman Gustin adding, "We were like, 'Oh my god, it's so pretty'… I didn't even know there was such a thing as a pink dolphin."

The dolphins are likely bottlenose dolphins with albinism, a condition that causes a lack of melanin, the pigment that gives skin, hair, and eyes their colour. In dolphins, this can cause their skin to appear pink.

Locals speculate that one of the dolphins may be "Pinky," a well-known pink dolphin that has been seen in the area for about 16 years. Pinky is thought to have albinism, but this has not been confirmed through genetic testing.

Pinky is a "well-known resident of that area and is often seen in those waters," the Audubon Coastal Wildlife Network, a marine mammal rehabilitation nonprofit, says in an email to USA TODAY's Saman Shafiq.

The other dolphin may be Pinky's offspring. In 2016, Pinky was seen mating with several male dolphins. If her mate carried the gene for albinism, there is a 50% chance that their offspring would be pink.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, only two other dolphins with albinism have been spotted in the Gulf of Mexico - one in 1994 and another in 2003. Both were completely white in colour.