Extremely rare white leucistic gator born in Florida reptile park
- The baby gator is one of just seven known leucistic alligators in the world
- CEO of Gatorland: “This is beyond rare. It is absolutely extraordinary"
- The park is asking the public for help naming the baby gator
This photo provided by Gatorland shows a white-skinned, leucistic alligator. There are only seven leucistic alligators in the world with three of them located at Gatorland Orlando, according to officials with the reptile park located in central Florida, who announced the birth on Thursday, Dec. 7, 2023. (Ken Guzzetti/Gatorland via AP)
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(NewsNation) — An extremely rare leucistic white alligator was born at a Florida reptile park this summer.
The 19.2-inch female gator is one of only seven known leucistic alligators in the world, Gatorland Orlando said Thursday. Three of the seven live at the Florida park.
“This is beyond rare. It is absolutely extraordinary,” Mark McHugh, president and CEO of Gatorland, said in a statement.
The leucistic alligator is the rarest genetic variation of the American alligator. Leucism gives the baby alligator its white coloring but is different from albinism because it does not affect the eyes.
“Without the darker skin pigmentation, they can’t have direct sunlight for long periods of time because they sunburn easily,” the park said in a statement.
For now, she will be kept away from guests to allow her to grow and develop normally, McHugh said.
Until then, the park is asking the public to help name the baby gator. The list so far includes Ice, Noelle, Snow, Pearl, Ivory and Marshmallow.
