World’s ‘rarest alligator’ is born in Florida with sparkling blue eyes and white scales

• Gatorland houses three of the remaining seven leucistic alligators still alive
• Leucistic alligators have a very rare genetic defect that affects pigment cells 
• READ MORE: Lousiana couple comes face-to-face with alligator 

A Florida amusement park announced the birth of the world’s rarest alligator – a solid white hatchling 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 instead of lacking pigmentation and feature occasional scales similar to those found on a typical alligator.

The young female, born alongside her normal-colored brother, weighed 96 grams and measured 49 centimeters long.

Gatorland is asking the public for their help to name the two newborn alligators but said they won’t be displayed until early next year

‘This is the culmination of 15 years of work and research to finally produce a leucistic baby alligator at Gatorland,’ Mark McHugh, President and CEO of Gatorland told Dailymail.com. 

‘This has only occurred a handful of times in the wild and never in the care of man,’ he continued. 

‘We are ecstatic about this birth because it opens the door for us to continue this rare genetic line for people to see, learn about them, and develop the desire to conserve and preserve American alligators. ‘

The 110-acre amusement park is located in Orlando, Florida, and now houses three of the seven living leucistic alligators in the world.

Leucistic gators are no different from regular alligators in eating habits and temperament, but similarly to albinos, they can burn when they come into contact with direct sunlight.

Their light coloring also means they can’t 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 gets older,’ McHugh said.

The young female was born alongside her normal-colored brother (pictured)

The baby leucistic alligators were 19 inches from the tip of their nose to their 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 ‘fully self-funded’ McHugh told Dailymail.com.

He said Gatorland was driven to breed the leucistic alligators because it is the ‘rarest phenotype or color variation of the American alligator.’

The park raised two normal colored alligators who carried the leucistic gene and bred one with a normal adult male, resulting in the only white offspring to ever be produced from the rare genetic line.

‘These are absolutely gorgeous alligators and we have been focused on ensuring this rare color phase continues for generations to see them 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 odds of the alligators having leucism is ‘one in a gazillion.’

He added: ‘This is probably the biggest event that has happened in not just the alligator world but 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 to be born from an original next of the rare reptiles discovered in a Louisiana marsh in 1987

‘It’s really hard to get people’s heads around loving something or caring about the conservation of something that can kill you or hurt you,’ Savannah Boan, Gatorland Global ambassador, told the outlet.

‘But when they’re alligators like this, that are this beautiful … it works really well in that people have a different take on that.’

Gatorland is asking for the public’s help to name the baby alligators, and said they’ll be keeping the mom and dad together to hopefully keep breeding the incredibly rare alligators.

‘They’ve got a nice little secluded and quiet spot for them,’ McHugh told the Orlando Sentinel.

‘We’re just going to keep raising this one, and hopefully, we get some more offspring next year.’

Source: Read Full Article