Pink Dolphin Appears in Louisiana Lake

[jus_the_facts]

PICTURE AT LINK...
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/4927224/Pink-dolphin-appears-in-US-lake.html

The world's only pink Bottlenose dolphin which was discovered in an inland lake in Louisiana, USA, has become such an attraction that conservationists have warned tourists to leave it alone.

Charter boat captain Erik Rue, 42, photographed the animal, which is actually an albino, when he began studying it after the mammal first surfaced in Lake Calcasieu, an inland saltwater estuary, north of the Gulf of Mexico in southwestern USA. Capt Rue originally saw the dolphin, which also has reddish eyes, swimming with a pod of four other dolphins, with one appearing to be its mother which never left its side.

He said: "I just happened to see a little pod of dolphins, and I noticed one that was a little lighter. "It was absolutely stunningly pink. "I have personally spotted the pink dolphin 40 to 50 times in the time since the original sighting as it has apparently taken up residence with its family in the Calcasieu ship channel. "As time has passed the young mammal has grown and sometimes ventures away from its mother to feed and play but always remains in the vicinity of the pod.

[Solly Mack]

1. What a beauty!

[xchrom]

2. ...

:loveya:

[YOY]

3. Looks like a cartoon character come to life!

Cute little thing.

[daggahead]

13. I was thinking the same thing ... maybe from Spongebob. n/t

[patriotvoice]

4. Awesome!

http://calcasieucharters.com/index.cfm?act=imagegallery.cfm&name=Rare+Pink+Dolphin+Photo+Gallery

[mikelgb]

5. wow when they said pink tthey meant PINK!

[jus_the_facts]

6. Looks like Flamingo pink to me....

....trippin' little thing for sure. :)

[DUlover2909]

22. Amazing color.

:hi: :kick:

[MineralMan]

7. I dub this dolphin "Bazooka."

Pretty thing.

[nichomachus]

8. The Pink Dolphin! Sounds like a gay bar.

:)

[Botany]

9. Or a drink

[RaleighNCDUer]

10. Seems to me that would be a maladaptive mutation -

both predators and prey could see it coming from a long way off, making it harder for it to feed itself, and an easier target for sharks.

[mimitabby]

15. being pink might save its life

its popularity might help bring attention to the plight of these creatures.

[azul]

11. OMG, the White Buffalo of the water world.

Communicating with the right brains of dense people through pictures because vocal communications just didn't translate well.

Wake up and smell the chemical sludge, Mother Nature is reddening!

[Rebubula]

12. Uhhh...

LOLWUT?

[Number9Dream]

14. Best of luck to the little creature

There have been numerous instances of dolphins protecting humans.

http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2004/11/24/dolphin_newzealand041124.html

Sending positive vibrations out to the entire species.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

17. Brrrrrrrr, that link gave me goosebumps!

Wow!
Thanks

[RaleighNCDUer]

19. such intelligent creatures, and we treat them so badly.

That shark was in hunting mode, from the description. A great white on the surface CAN be dangerous, of course, but they don't hunt on the surface. A great white hunts from below, striking upward from beneath its prey. The fact this one stayed on the bottom means it was hunting.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

16. Looooove!

so sweet!

:loveya:

[NikolaC]

18. Amazing

What a beautiful creature :). I hope that they are able to keep this dolphin safe because I am sure that it is going to be a huge tourist attraction.

[liberalla]

20. Beautiful bubblegum pink!

Live long, little one!

[earth mom]

21. What a beautiful creature-I really hope nothing happens to it!

:loveya:

[PfcHammer]

23. Honestly, they shouldn't have publicized this