Stunning images have surfaced of an elusive albino dolphin that can change colour from white to pink when it 's emotional . The rare mammal has been making waves at the Taiji Whale Museum in southern Japan , where it draws vast and fascinated crowds . While bottlenose dolphins are typically grey , the mammal is completely white– apart from the quirky tendency to turn pink when it 's feeling angry , sad or even embarrassed . Scroll down for video . An albino bottlenose dolphin frolics inside the Taiji Whale Museum in southern Japan . The phenomenon results from the animals thin skin , which means its blood vessels can cause a change in skin tone depending on their emotional state . Essentially , they blush in the same way as humans . The rare specimen is believed to be only the second one ever put on display in an aquarium after it was purchased from fishermen last year . The animal was controversially captured during the annual dolphin hunt in the town of Taiji in January . Its quirky colouration meant the fishermen would get more money selling it to an aquarium than as meat . While bottlenose dolphins are typically grey , the mammal is completely white– apart from the quirky tendency to turn pink when it 's feeling emotional . The rare animal - believed to be only the second one ever put on display in an aquarium - has been drawing in huge crowds of fascinated beholders . The Taiji hunt was made notorious by the 2009 Oscar-winning documentary 'The Cove , ' which depicted fishermen capturing hundreds of dolphins for aquariums or to be killed for meat . Japan 's Wakayama Prefecture , which includes Taiji , reported that 1,218 dolphins and small whales were captured there in 2011 , though it did not specify how many of those captured were killed . Environmental activists filed a lawsuit against the Taiji Whaling Museum in May 2014 , claiming it had refused experts to check on the safety of the elusive dolphin . But the museum claims the creatures health has been monitored through periodic blood tests , and that they are keeping it 'physically and mentally healthy ' for further research . The pink tone is a result of the animals thin skin , which means its blood vessels can cause a change in skin tone depending on their emotional state . Environmental activists filed a lawsuit against the Taiji Whaling Museum in May 2014 , claiming it had refused experts to check on the safety of the elusive dolphin . It was also reported the museum did the animal a favour - albino dolphins are easy prey at sea as they unable to blend in like their grey coloured relatives . Experts claimed it was remarkable that the animal had survived so long before being taken to the museum . Taiji Whaling Museum , along with the Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology and the Institute of Cetacean Research , published a study about the dolphin in Mammal Study March 2015 . The animal is captured by fishermen during the annual dolphin hunt in the town of Taiji in January last year . Researchers at the museum , who claim they are keeping the dolphin in good health for research purposes , published a study about the animal in March .
The rare albino dolphin lives at the Taiji Whale Museum in southern Japan . Its thin skin means it changes colour when it 's emotional like a human . A baby orca swims with its mother on the beach of Cape Cod Bay near Boston, Massachusetts, United States August 25, 2015. Activists filed a lawsuit against the museum for withholding information . But the museum claims the animal is kept 'physically and mentally healthy ' Researchers from the museum released a study on the animal in March .