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Gatorland in Florida just welcomed a new baby leucistic alligator, an all-white alligator, and it has a unique bloodline that makes it the rarest alligator on Earth.
This baby alligator‘s journey began over 36 years ago when a nest of leucistic alligators were discovered in a Louisiana swamp back in 1987. Leucistic alligators are often confused for their albino brethren but unlike albino gators they do no have pink eyes. Instead, these all-white leucistic alligators have piercing blue eyes like the White Walkers on Game of Thrones.
Why This Leucistic Alligator Born In Florida Is The Rarest On Earth
@gatorland A Baby Leucistic Alligator has hatched at out at Gatorland & it is the first ine in the world‼️ #alligator #leucisticalligator #whitealligator #rare #amazing #alligators #florida
Of that original nest of all-white alligators found in Louisiana back in 1987, seven are still alive. Of those original seven gators, three of them reside at Gatorland in Orlando, Florida, an alligator-centric theme park.
This little baby white alligator with the piercing blue eyes of a Siberian husky is the first and only leucistic alligator born from alligators recovered from that original next back in 1987. The bloodline goes from those 1987 OGs straight to this little gator that still doesn’t have a name. The baby female alligator was born alongside a brother who has normal alligator coloration. They were born from parents Jeyan and Ashley.
In fact, the folks at Gatorland are now asking the public to help them name their new celebrity alligator so you can hop into the Instagram comments if you want to help with that.
Extremely Rare In The Wild
Leucism is incredibly rare to encounter in the wild and it doesn’t take a degree in Zoology to understand why. Without natural camouflage and instead having bright white skin that stands out, animals born with leucism are extremely vulnerable to predation. They rarely reach adolescence because they stand out like a sore thumb to predators.
Furthermore, leucistic alligators cannot spend extended periods of time in the sun without their scales getting torched from the sunlight. Just like me and my freckles, they burn quickly.
Don’t be fooled by how special and rare they are, or by this video. They are every bit as much of an alligator as any other even if this one is being trained like a lap dog:
And for context, here is what a baby albino alligator looks like with pink eyes and all white skin (no patches) compared to a leucistic alligator:
This baby leucistic alligator is being called the rarest alligator in the world. She will be available to see at some point at Gatorland in Orlando, Florida. So if that’s something on your bucket list be sure to bookmark this article so you remember to book that trip in the future.