A small Christmas miracle was born at the alligator park “Gatorland” at the beginning of December.
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– This is more than just rare, this is absolutely extraordinary, says Gatorland CEO Mark McHugh in a statement on Gatorland’s Facebook page.
The alligator is an American alligator with a rare genetic variation; leukism. This gives it white skin and blue eyes. The little reptile was 49 cm long and weighed 96 grams when she hatched from her egg on December 7.
In Louisiana, a nest of alligators with leukism was found in 1987. The newborn alligator is the first all-white alligator with leukism to originate from these alligators.
According to Hugh, there are only seven leucistic Marican alligators left, and this will be the eighth in the world.
The alligator has attracted a lot of attention, including many media outlets National Geographic, BBC, The Guardian and AP News has mentioned the rare event.
“GATORBOSS”: Mark McHugh together with the nyfødte alligators. Photo: Gatorland Orlando
– This is probably the biggest event that has happened not only in the alligator world, but in the reptile world, McHugh, according to the newspaper Orlando Sentinel.
– An alligator with leukism, that almost never happens.
Gatorland writes that leukism often degenerates with a mixture of white skin and dark spots. Without the dark skin, alligators with leukism also cannot tolerate being in direct sunlight for long periods of time.
Alligators with leucism differ from the albino variety. An albino alligator has no pigments at all and completely pink eyes.
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Photo: Ken Guzzetti / AP / NTB Photo: Ken Guzzetti / AP / NTB Photo: Ken Guzzetti / AP / NTB
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Photo: Ken Guzzetti / AP / NTB
The newborn female alligator was born with her normally colored brother. “Gatorland” writes that they plan to show off the two alligators at the beginning of 2024:
– So our guests can see them, learn about them and fall in love with them as we have, writes Gatorland Orlando.
The alligator park is asking for input from the public on the name of the reptile.
December 8 wrote BBC that the list currently consisted of: “Ice”, “Noelle”, “Snow”, “Pearl”, “Ivory” and “Marshmallow”.
According to the newspaper, the little alligator is a mix of a normally colored mother and a father with leukism.
Published:
Published: 18.12.23 at 00:07
Updated: 18.12.23 at 00:55
2023-12-17 23:07:05
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