What is believed to be the only pink manta ray in the entire world is spotted of the Australian coast. The manta ray ,which is dubbed ‘Inspector Closeau’ after the famous detective of the pink panther series, has only been spotted a handful of times in the last decade. Finnish photographer Kristian Laine was lucky enough to encounter the inspector and took these incredible shots!
Till this day it remains a mystery how come the manta is pink. There are many theories but even after a analyses of a skin sample scientist are not sure what the causes is for this rare mutation. The latest theory suggests that it’s some sort of genetic mutation causing a pink of melanin te be expressed.
For sure is that it’s very rare. There have been only 8 to 10 sightings since the first one in 2015. Kristian spend around 20 to 30 minutes with the inspector which is believed to be part of the manta mating train surrounding the cleaning station at the time. So maybe we can expect some pink offspring in the future.