An alligator amusement park close to Orlando, Florida, fittingly referred to as Gatorland, has introduced its best new attraction: the ‘rarest alligator on the planet’, a stable white hatchling with piercing crystal blue eyes.
The ghostly gator may appear like an albino to the common vacationer, however in actuality, it’s a fair rarer type of reptile referred to as a leucistic alligator.
In contrast to albinism, which is marked by an absence of the pigment melanin, leucism is attributable to defects in particular pigment-producing cells.
Which means leucistic alligators should not pale yellow with pink eyes. They’re extra like reptilian White Walkers with the occasional patch of typical-colored scales right here and there.
“For the first time since a nest of leucistic alligators was discovered in the swamps of Louisiana 36 years ago, we have the first birth of a solid white alligator ever recorded from those original alligators,” reads a press launch from Gatorland on Fb.
“This is beyond rare, it is absolutely extraordinary and the first one in the world.”
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In the present day, there are solely seven recognized residing leucistic alligators on the planet, and Gatorland has three of them. To place that in perspective, there are between 100 and 200 known albino gators in the world.
The president and CEO of Gatorland, Mark McHugh, explained in a YouTube video with some ‘Florida flair’ how the world’s largest white gator breeding facility came to be.
In 2008, the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans offered Gatorland a few alligators that carried the genes for leucism.
One of these adopted gators, a male named Jeyan (who has since moved to the theme park Fun Spot), has scales that look like ‘white chocolate‘, and it carries both the dominant and recessive genes for leucism.
Another female gator, named Ashley, looks normal but was thought to secretly hold the recessive gene for leucism as well.
In August of this year, Ashley’s hidden genes were finally confirmed by breeders. Two eggs, laid by Ashley and fertilized by Jeyan, began to hatch, and, much to the excitement of park workers, one of the shells was pierced by a little white snout.
A Baby Leucistic Alligator has hatched at out at Gatorland & it is the first one in the world‼️ #alligator #leucisticalligator #whitealligator #rare #amazing #alligators #florida pic.twitter.com/oHn54xxQnR
— Gatorland Orlando (@Gatorland) December 7, 2023
The pocket-sized gator is a beautiful creamy white with eyes a cool blue. Next to the normal colors of the female gator’s brother, the sister looks downright dreamy.
Both siblings are in good health, according to officials at the park. They already weigh about 96 grams and are currently 49 centimeters long. They now live at Gatorland’s ‘White Gator Swamp’ – a shady spot that protects the leucistic individuals from the harsh rays of the Sun.
Similar to albino gators, leucistic gators can easily be burned by direct sunlight, and yet unlike albinism, leucism does not coincide with other genetic anomalies that cause deformities like spine curvature.
Leucistic gators are generally in good health and can live long and happy lives in captivity. In the wild, however, it is likely that such coloring makes it difficult to hunt and evade their own predators, according to experts at the Audubon Nature Institute in New Orleans.
“These are extremely particular animals within the reptile world, and we’re being very cautious with their security and safety,” wrote officers at Gatorland on Fb.
“We plan to have them on show early subsequent yr so friends can see them, study them, and fall in love with them like we now have.”
Gatorland is looking on the general public to assist identify the 2 new gators. Already, there was a frenzy of affords on social media, together with Leucie and Rickie, Salt and Pepper, and Rice and Gumbo.
