Our favourite Albino Dolphin is thriving in Algoa Bay
By Jake Keeton

Sunday, 22nd March 2026

Those that have been fortunate to spend time on the water searching for whales and dolphins will know that you never know what each day has in store for you. Every time we leave the port there are endless possibilities for what we may encounter. You could have the most incredible day filled with sightings or search for hours on end without finding any cetaceans. This uncertainty is what keeps us coming back for more, a drive to explore the unknown.

We are fortunate in Algoa Bay as it is extremely rare to have a day where we do not find any whales or dolphins. After nine years of skippering, I can count these occasions on 1 hand. This being said, we do have days where we have to search far and wide hoping to find that one whale or one pod of dolphins to be the highlight of the cruise. The opposite of this is when you leave the port and find it difficult to complete the tour within the advertised time as there's simply too much action in the bay to stop and see.

Yesterday was one of those days where the bay was teaming with life. We spent our allowed time with a huge pod of Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphin, about 600 strong. After some time with the pod, one of our guests, Nishta Daya pointed out that there was a White dolphin in the pod.

I stepped out of the cabin to have a look and sure enough there he was, Popcorn the Albino Bottlenose was swimming in the middle of the large pod.

We first saw Popcorn when he was a young calf in April 2023. The unique calf was named Popcorn by means of a public competition. Since then, we have had numerous sightings of this rare individual, allowing us to track his growth and come to know what other easily recognizable individuals form part of the same pod.

Prior to yesterday our last sighting of Popcorn was 5 months ago in October 2025. When months go by without sighting Popcorn we tend to think the worst as we do not know how Popcorn’s unique appearance affects his ability to evade predation and survive. I feel that going forward we can have more confidence in Popcorn’s resilience; he is now the same size as the adults and appears to be in great condition.

After this special sighting we caught up with a large pod of Long-beaked Common Dolphins that were moving through the bay. We are seeing more and more Common Dolphins in our bay as we get closer to April and the Start of the 2026 Sardine Run season.

Having experienced a good amount of east wind and seeing a significant increase in Bryde’s Whale and Common Dolphin activity in Algoa Bay, we are hoping for an unforgettable Sardine Run this year.

The team is ready, the predators have gathered in anticipation, all we need now of is for the fish to arrive.

Watch magnificent drone footage of Popcorn.