Extremely Rare Albino Dolphin Spotted In Tampa Bay Waters [Watch]

A rare albino dolphin was spotted last Thursday afternoon in the waters of Tampa Bay, Florida. The baby dolphin left witnesses in awe of its all-white beauty as it hunted with its family.

Dolphin sightings around Tampa Bay's waters are a common occurrence, but witnesses were surprised when they saw a rare baby albino dolphin swimming about with its mother and another calf.

"We see all kinds of dolphins, but never this one," Caitlin Mackey, one of the witnesses, told FOX 13. "It looked to me that they were hunting near the sea wall, as they normally do. The back caudal fin is deformed, but as you can see, it seemed to be swimming fine."

Mackey quickly took a video of the all-white baby dolphin as it swam near the sea wall at the Clearwater Basin Marina. The baby albino could easily be spotted in the seven-second recording as its color was in contrast with those of the two other dolphins. Its two companions sported the typical gray coloring dolphins have.

To date, very little is still known about albino dolphins, as they are rarely seen. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shared that the information surrounding animals with this condition is based on how it affects humans as a genetic predisposition manifesting as a lack of melanin pigments.

"Most forms of albinism are a result of the biological inheritance of genetically recessive genes passed from both parents to an individual, though some rare forms are inherited from only one parent," NOAA said. "This genetic trait is characterized by white or light skin and hair, the appearance of pink or red eye coloring and often-impaired vision."

Although considered a rare occurrence, the animal seen last Thursday isn't the only albino dolphin spotted in Florida.

In January 2015, an albino bottlenose dolphin was spotted at an estuary just off Florida's East Coast, WTSP reported. Danielle Carter, a volunteer with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, shot a two-minute video of the rare mammal and posted it on Youtube, where the video racked up almost 200,000 views.