Pirotta said other rare albino whales had been known to swim up and down the Australian coastline. Saltwater can also weather the skin of whales when they die at sea, turning it a whitish colour by the time they wash up along the coast.

Migaloo, whose name means “white fella” in several Indigenous languages, is believed to have been born in 1986 and was first spotted in 1991 off the coast of Byron Bay. But the last sighting of Migaloo, aged in his mid-30s, off Australia was in June 2020.

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Pirotta said the best way to identify the whale would be to look at the ridges on its tail, carry out genetic analysis of the carcass and compare it to samples taken from Migaloo. Scientists can then opt to undertake a whale necropsy, an animal autopsy to determine the cause of death.

“If a necropsy can be undertaken, this is a huge contribution to science,” she said. “Scientists will be able to take data, sample collection, learn more about why this animal has passed, which might infer information about our marine environment.”

Pirotta said that could point to the presence of pollutants in the water, underlying health problems or the impact of human activity in the area, as well as possibly highlighting risks to other marine life.

However, the remoteness of the location of the carcass could pose a challenge for officers and researchers seeking to collect samples or transport the remains. The area is only accessible by boat and on foot.

The discovery comes during Australia’s whale season, when large numbers of humpback whales migrate from waters around Antarctica to the Great Barrier Reef.

Pirotta said whale stranding was largely uncommon, but it was not an unusual occurrence during migration season due to the sheer number of whales travelling up and down the coast.

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