Albino dolphin ‘Popcorn’ returns to Algoa Bay after eight months

After vanishing from sight for eight long months — sparking fears it may have fallen prey to a shark or killer whale — Algoa Bay’s beloved albino bottlenose dolphin, affectionately known as Popcorn, has been spotted again near Pollok Beach in Gqeberha.

The rare white calf, first spotted as a newborn in April 2023 by Raggy Charters owner Lloyd Edwards, was named Popcorn via a public poll and quickly became “famous” among locals and tourists.

Its striking albino colouring made it stand out among the bay’s grey bottlenose dolphins, and sightings were a regular highlight on whale, dolphin and penguin cruises throughout 2023 and 2024.

But then Popcorn seemingly vanished – last seen on 17 February 2025. In the months that followed, Edwards and his crew regularly spotted other familiar dolphins believed to be part of the same 150-strong pod — including Heavy Breather (with a deformed blowhole), Dolf (missing a dorsal fin), and Holy (with a small round hole in her fin). But there was no sign of Popcorn.

Albinism is a genetic condition that stops animals from producing melanin, leaving them white with pink eyes, which are more sensitive to light.

According to Live Science Popcorn’s solid white colouration hints that it is a true albino, rather than being leucistic (a partial loss of pigmentation).

After no sighting of Popcorn for eight months, on Wednesday, 8 October, a white dorsal fin was spotted in the shallows near Pollok Beach. Raggy Charters Manager Jake Keeton, who made the sighting, said he had to be certain it was Popcorn before sharing the news with guests on board.

‘Big relief’

“It was a big relief to see that he’s still going strong and quite surprising to see how much he’s grown,” said Keeton.

Using a long lens, Keeton confirmed that Popcorn was in the middle of the pod, which remained very close to the shore break in shallow water. “I really didn’t expect it,” said Keeton.

“We had already sort of accepted and started telling people that we thought Popcorn was unfortunately not with us any more, that he’d succumbed to a predator or something along those lines.

“So when we first caught a glimpse of it, I said to the guys on the boat, ‘I’ve just seen one that’s really light in colour’. But because the likelihood of it being Popcorn was so low after such a long time, I thought it was most likely just an older individual in the pod. They do become quite pale grey, especially on the dorsal fin when they get older.”

But, Keeton said, when the dolphin came to the surface for the second time, “I was like, no, that’s definitely Popcorn.”

Keeton said it was at that moment that he shared the sighting with those on the cruise. He said he had pulled out a calendar they keep on the boat and showed the passengers older photographs of Popcorn.

“I told them the story of when we first saw him or her,” said Keeton.

Read more: How scientists are using AI to eavesdrop on dolphins and estimate population size

Observing the pod from a distance, the team was able to capture photographs of Popcorn, confirming two things: Popcorn was still alive and had grown significantly over the past eight months.

Gqeberha residents who have been following Popcorn’s movements since the little dolphin was first spotted were relieved to hear of the sighting, none more than Edwards, who is on holiday in Turkey. He said, “I think I am the most relieved of all. It was looking dire, and then, like a fried piece of corn, Popcorn was back.”

Keeton noted that Heavy Breather and Dolf are members of the same pod as Popcorn. Interestingly, throughout Popcorn’s absence, these dolphins and other members of the pod were regularly sighted without Popcorn present, which he described as “a research project in the making”.

He said that having dolphins like Popcorn, Heavy Breather, Dolf and company helped to track the pods’ movements.

“They are making us ask a lot of questions about how the pods move around. Do they leave the bay for two or three weeks and then come back?”

Keeton said that having a “highlighter” in the pod made it easier to follow the dolphins’ movements.

“It makes other work or collecting of data a bit easier because you have one dolphin carrying a flag – saying, ‘this is our pod’.” DM