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A Florida amusement park announced the birth of the world’s rarest alligator: a solid white baby with crystal blue eyes.
The baby was welcomed by Gatorland Park, which said the “extraordinary” birth was not an albino but a much rarer breed called a leucistic alligator.
These types differ from albinos because leucistic alligators have defects in pigment-producing cells rather than lacking pigmentation and characteristics. occasional scales similar to those found on a typical alligator.
The young woman, born with her brother of normal color, weighed 96 grams and measured 49 centimeters long.
Gatorland is asking the public for help in naming the two newborn alligators, but said they won’t go on display until early next year.
“This is the culmination of 15 years of work and research to finally produce a leucistic alligator calf at Gatorland,” Mark McHugh, president and CEO of Gatorland, told Dailymail.com.
“This has only happened a few times in the wild and never under the care of man,” he continued.
‘We are delighted with this birth because it opens the door for us to continue with this rare genetic line so that people can see it, learn about it and develop the desire to conserve and preserve American alligators. ‘
The 110-acre amusement park is located in Orlando, Florida, and is now home to three of the world’s seven living leucistic alligators.
Leucistic alligators are no different from normal alligators in eating habits and temperament, but like albinos, they can burn when they come into contact with direct sunlight.
Their light color also means that they cannot blend into their surroundings, making them easy prey for predators; Otherwise, the leucistic alligator is no different from any other.
“She is just a normal baby alligator, except for her white color and striking dark eyes that will gradually turn bright blue as she grows,” McHugh said.
The young woman was born with her brother of normal color (in the photo)
The leucistic alligator babies measured 19 inches from tip of nose to tail at birth and were given a clean bill of health.
Two leucistic alligators were born at Gatorland amusement park in Orlando, Florida
Gatorland’s alligator breeding program is “completely self-funded,” McHugh told Dailymail.com.
He said Gatorland was prompted to breed leucistic alligators because it is the “rarest phenotype or color variation of the American alligator.”
The park bred two normal-colored alligators carrying the leucistic gene and crossed one with a normal adult male, resulting in the only white offspring ever produced from this rare genetic line.
“These alligators are absolutely beautiful and we have been focused on ensuring this rare color phase continues for generations to see and learn about them,” McHugh said.
Speaking about the birth of the rare alligators, Danielle Lucas, a Gatorland employee, told the Orlando Sentinel: “I felt like I was dreaming.” “It was surreal.”
McHugh told the outlet that the chances of alligators having leucism are “one in millions.”
He added: “This is probably the largest event that has occurred not only in the alligator world but also in the reptile world, to produce a leucistic alligator.” It’s just unheard of.’
Gatorland said the baby alligators, born to parents Jeyan and Ashley, are doing well so far and are already eating supplemental pellets and pieces of raw chicken.
The two leucistic alligators are the first born from an original specimen of the rare reptiles discovered in a Louisiana swamp in 1987.
“It’s really hard to get people to love something or care about preserving something that can kill or hurt them,” Savannah Boan, Gatorland’s global ambassador, told the outlet.
“But when there are alligators like this, which are so beautiful… it works very well because people have a different view of that.”
Gatorland is asking for the public’s help in naming the baby alligators and said they will keep mom and dad together to hopefully continue raising incredibly rare alligators.
“They have a small, secluded, quiet place to themselves,” McHugh told the Orlando Sentinel.
“We’re going to keep breeding this one and hopefully we’ll have more babies next year.”
World’s ‘rarest alligator’ is born in Florida with sparkling blue eyes and white scales