'Beyond Rare' Alligator Born At Popular Florida Theme Park

An iconic theme park in Florida is celebrating after an extremely rare alligator was born under their care. Gatorland Orlando welcomed a beautiful leucistic white alligator into the world, the first one to ever be born in human care, the park announced on Thursday (December 7).

"For the first time since a nest of leucistic alligators was discovered in the swamps of Louisiana 36 years ago, we have the first birth of a solid white alligator ever recorded from those original alligators," Mark McHugh, President and CEO of Gatorland, said in a statement. "This is beyond ‘rare,’ it is absolutely extraordinary!"

The new baby girl is one of eight leucistic alligators in the entire world, and her birth means Gatorland now has the largest collection of these rare reptiles.

Leucistic alligators are not the same as albino alligators. The former are born white and have blue eyes, while the latter have reddish-pink eyes and lack any color pigments.

"Leucism in alligators causes white coloration, but they often have patches or splotches of normal coloration on their skin," Gatorland explains. "Without the darker skin pigmentation, they can’t have direct sunlight for long periods of time because they sunburn easily."

The blue-eyed gator was born alongside a normally-colored male, according to park officials. They both weigh 96 grams, are under 100 feet long, and passed their health check-ups with flying colors.

Gatorland doesn't plan on putting them on display until early 2024, but they're asking the public for help in naming the leucistic alligator and her brother. You can participate by commenting on their posts on YouTube, Instagram, or Facebook.