LAKE CALCASIEU (Louisiana) - A UNIQUE bottlenose dolphin is drawing huge numbers of tourists to a lake in Louisian due to its bright pink hue.

First spotted in lake Calcasieu, an inland saltwater estuary, by boat captain Erik Rue, 42, in 2007, the dolphin has returned said reports on Tuesday.

According to a report on website news.com.au the US National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society said the pink dolphin is real.

Mr Rue said 'Pinky' 'looks like it just came out of a paint booth'.

"I just happened to see a little pod of dolphins, and I noticed one that was a little lighter,' he told London's Telegraph newspaper. "It was absolutely stunningly pink. I had never seen anything like it. It's the same color throughout the whole body.'

Tourists are flocking to the lake in hopes of seeing the rare mammal.