Christmas comes early at Gatorland, Florida’s popular wildlife park, which welcomes an extremely rare white alligator — one of only eight in the world.
The Orlando Zoo announced Thursday the hatching of a female leucistic white alligator, which it touted as “extraordinarily rare” and “very unusual.”
“Oh boy, we have some exciting news here at Gatorland,” said Mark McHugh, president and CEO of Gatorland. “For the first time since a leucistic alligator nest was discovered in a Louisiana swamp 36 years ago, we have the first birth of a solid white alligator ever recorded from that original alligator.”
Leucistic alligators are the rarest genetic variation in American alligators, according to a statement from Gatorland.
Leucism, or partial loss of pigmentation, causes crocodiles to be white, but they often have patches of normal coloring on their skin, and brilliant blue eyes.
They should not be confused with albino crocodiles, which have a complete loss of pigment and pink eyes.
Like albinos, however, leucistic crocodiles should also not be exposed to direct sunlight for long periods of time because they are prone to sunburn, according to the zoo.
An extremely rare female leucistic white alligator found at Florida’s Gatorland park. Facebook/Gatorland Orlando The female reptile hatched in August with her normally colored brother, but the park hid her birth for months. Facebook/Gatorland Orlando
The new white alligator and its normal-colored brother hatched to parents Jeyan and Ashley in August, but Gatorland kept the landmark birth a secret for nearly five months to keep the animals healthy.
“These are very special animals in the world of reptiles, and we are very careful about their safety and security,” McHugh said.
The brother and sister currently weigh 96 grams, or about 3.5 ounces, and are just under 49 cm long, which is almost 20 inches.
The white alligator and his brother received an “A+” for their health during their most recent vet checkup. New addition to Facebook/Gatorland Orlando Gatorland is one of only eight white leucistic alligators in the world. Facebook/Gatorland Orlando
During the alligators’ most recent inspection, Gatorland veterinarians gave them an “A+” on their health. Their food consists of bite-sized pieces of raw chicken and Croc Chow pellets.
Given how rare leucistic alligators are, Gatorland has stepped up security at the park to protect its scaly herd of joy, which could be worth millions of dollars.
“He’s in a locked house, in a locked room, in a locked aquarium. No one can get it. I think there’s only one key,” the park’s international ambassador Savannah Boan told Yahoo News Australia.
The small reptile weighs less than 3.5 ounces and eats small pieces of chicken. Facebook/Gatorland Orlando
The park plans to put the white alligator and his brother on display early next year “so guests can see them, learn about them and fall in love with them like we have,” the Gatorland CEO said.
The park is appealing to the public for help finding names for the two reptile brothers.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
