The rare pink dolphin, "Pinkie" was discovered to be a female by charter boat captain Erik Rue, who found her mating in Lake Charles, Louisiana.
"I've taken a ton of pictures of her mating and it proved she's a female," Rue told ABC News today. "I believe I'm first one who saw her and I know I'm the first one to take pictures of her.
Capt. Rue, who works at Calcasieu Charter Service, was shocked to see the rosey-colored mammal for the first time in 2007 with four other people on board.
"I've learned a lot since I've spend a lot of time following her around."
Since then, Pinkie has been a local favourite attraction as people started to join Rue on his charter hoping to get a glimpse of her.
"I think many are a bit surprise when they actually see it and it's actually bright pink like we've told them," he continued. "They say 'Oh my gosh it's really pink.' They are surprised that it's just the way we described it to them.
"It's very stunning to look at," he added. "It's interesting to know things like that exist in the world and it's really beautiful to see that."
Rue describes Pinkie as a curious dolphin who swims just within 5 to 10 feet away from his boat. As he finds out the dolphin's gender, he's still isn't sure, however, how Pinkie got her distinctive color.
"Dolphins have pink bellies, so I just kind of started of thinking that this is a genetic glitch," he went on. "If it was albino I believe it would be white. I've changed what I thought over time, as I analyzed the pictures I have. Other than it being pink and her eyes not opening all the way, it's a perfectly normal dolphin and does all the things the rest of them do."
National Geographic reports Pinkie is indeed an albino as explained by scientist Greg Barsh, who studies the genetics color variation at Alabama's Hudson Alpha Institute for Biotechnology.
Pinkie has reddish eyes and blood vessels as seen through her pale skin - both clear signs of albinism.
Albanism occurs when cells fail to produce enough melanin - which is responsible for the colors of the skin, hair and eyes. Although Pinkie has been seen since 2007, it is quite possible that she is having health problems as melanin protects the skin and eyesight. According to Barsh, many albinos suffer vision problems.
