Mocha Dick

Mocha Dick
	Mocha Dick: Or The White Whale of the Pacific by Jeremiah N. Reynolds, Cameron and Ferguson, London, Glasgow. 1870.
Other name(s)	The White Whale
Species	Sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus)
Sex	male
Born	before 1800
Died	1838; Pacific Ocean
Cause of death	Killed by whalers
Years active	1810–38
Known for	Attacking ships
Residence	off Mocha Island
Height	70 ft (21 m) in length
Appearance	albino, head covered with barnacles
Named after	Mocha Island

Mocha Dick (/ˈmɒtʃə dɪk/; died 1838) was the nickname given to a rogue albino (or possibly leucistic) male sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) that lived in the southeastern Pacific Ocean in the early 19th century, usually encountered in the waters near Mocha Island, off the central coast of Chile. American explorer and author J. N. Reynolds published an account of the whale in Mocha Dick, Or The White Whale of the Pacific: A Leaf from a Manuscript Journal, printed in The Knickerbocker in 1839. Mocha Dick was, apparently, part of the inspiration behind Herman Melville's novel, Moby-Dick (1851).^[1]

^ Delbanco, Andrew. Melville, His World and Work. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2005: 167–168. ISBN 0-375-40314-0

Mocha Dick: Or The White Whale of the Pacific by Jeremiah N. Reynolds, Cameron and Ferguson, London, Glasgow. 1870.
Other name(s)	The White Whale
Species	Sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus)
Sex	male
Born	before 1800
Died	1838 Pacific Ocean
Cause of death	Killed by whalers
Years active	1810–38
Known for	Attacking ships
Residence	off Mocha Island
Height	70 ft (21 m) in length
Appearance	albino, head covered with barnacles
Named after	Mocha Island