Albino Alligator Kept in the Dark
Exposure to sunlight could kill an albino alligator — albino meaning one without pigment and pinkish eyes. Without an alligator’s regular pigment, they cannot live long while exposed to the sun, as their skin would burn.
Excursia reports that this 12 year old albino alligator is on temporary exhibit at the Knoxville Zoo, on loan from the Alligator Farm Zoological Park in St. Augustine, Fla., which has about 30 animals that have been acquired over the last 15 years from a commercial farmer in Cut Off, La. It almost appears to be wearing a mischievous smile here!
The albinos are found in the same nest every year and are believed to be produced from the same male and female who both carry the recessive gene for albinism, said David Kledzik, curator of reptiles in St. Augustine.
The Florida park made a deal with the farmer to get the albinos. He hatches and raises them until he is ready to give them up, he said.
“Every few years we get a call, ‘Come get your albinos.’ We go out there and get the albinos. We may get six or eight a trip,” Kledzik said.
Conservative Voice said the exhibit at Knoxville Zoo is marketed with the slogan “Look in Dem Eyes” in reference to a legend that good luck will follow those who see the animal. It will run through to Labor Day.
Phil Colclough, assistant curator of herpetology at the zoo said “Nobody believes she’s real. They stare until she takes a breath or moves her eyes or jumps in the pool.”
Some white alligators are albino, meaning they lack a dark pigment called melanin, and their eyes appear reddish because of the blood vessels underneath.
Another kind of white alligators are leucistic, meaning they have white pigment and blue eyes. The Aquarium of the Americas in New Orleans has leucistic alligators found in a Louisiana swamp in 1987.
Three leucistic gators were found in 2003 on Hilton Head Island, S.C., and later seized by state officials, who also arrested the men who discovered them.
Jim Darlington, the senior reptile keeper at the Alligator Farm said “The genetic quirk makes the alligators both rare and sensitive to their surroundings, because without melanin, they are susceptible to sunburn and predators. Most albino animals in the wild don’t live long anyway because they stand out and get eaten.”
About 6 to 7 feet long, the two are new additions at the St. Augustine attraction on Florida A1A. The reptiles, 6 and 8 years old, will be displayed permanently in a bayoulike setting that features Zydeco background music beneath a shady pavilion designed for sun protection.
The alligators are among four male albinos the attraction bought from south Louisiana alligator farmer Gerald Savoie, who regularly incubates alligator eggs for his business raising the reptiles for hides and meat, Darlington said.
In 1992, eggs Savoie had taken from a wild nest hatched albino alligators.
The St. Augustine attraction has displayed albino alligators twice in the past, in 1992 and 1997. Those alligators, also from Louisiana, were on temporary loan.
Reptile Training
Target Training albino alligators at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm. This training was incorporated to reduce aggression toward enclosure mates.
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Wow, thanks for writing this up. My son is really big into anything like this so I even had him read it. He now wants to visit the zoo.
Hi there. Interesting blog you have here.
I don’t really fancy crocodiles but those baby crocs are cute!
Cheers!
Homemom3, I’m glad that it made a positive impression on him
Butt, I find the young ones cute myself! Sometimes nature produces creatures that are so odd that they’re actually adorable.
Looks like I am the only one here that thinks reptiles aren’t cute. The closest creature to reptile that I find cute is hedgehog.
Haha, I don’t think you’re alone Cherry. I’ve never seen a hedgehog up close and personal, but I’ll take your word for it
Am I the only one that was thinking about what cool boots a white aligator would make? I know its wrong but I could not help thinking it.
Avi, you probably are, but that’s a good one, haha!
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Hey! Thanks for the info on true albino and leucistic alligators. I am the head of the fans of Claude, the Albino (though he really is leucistic) Alligator, at the SF Natural Science museum on Facebook
love this video