An Extremely Rare White Alligator Pops Into View In Florida
A very rare white alligator was born this month at Gatorland, an alligator-themed park in Orlando, Florida. The gator is a girl, born along with a normal-colored twin brother.
“This is beyond ‘rare,’ it is absolutely extraordinary and the first one in the world,” gushed the Gatorland account on Instagram.
The all-white girl is a leucistic alligator, not an albino. Gatorland explains the difference: “Leucistic alligators are the rarest genetic variation in the American alligator. They differ from albino alligators, which have pink eyes and a complete loss of pigment. Leucism in alligators causes white coloration, but they often have patches or splotches of normal coloration on their skin.”
The twins were born to parents Jeyan and Ashley, who were part of a nest of leucistic gators discovered in a Louisiana swamp 36 years ago. The newborn girl is the first recorded solid white progeny from that original brood. Both she and her brother are about 19 inches long and weigh 3.5 ounces each.
Gatorland posted a short video of the gator emerging from her shell on Instagram, here. The park is asking for name suggestions for the gator siblings in the comments. So far, Yin and Yang have the inside track.
Welcome to Earth, little rare one.
Photo credit: Ken Guzzetti / Gatorland
