Piercing blue eyes pale skin rare white crocodile stands out like a sore thumb. A white crocodile, one of only 12 of its kind anywhere in the world.
Brought in from the swamps of Louisiana. With its piercing blue eyes and pale skin this rare crocodile stands out like a sore thumb.
Weighing over 500 pounds, 22 year old male Bouya Blan is one of only 12 white crocodile in the world.
Piercing blue eyes pale skin rare white crocodile stands out like a sore thumb.
The 500lb, 22-year-old male alligator, Bouya Blan, whose name means white fog, is kept at the Gatorland theme park in Florida.
He one of four giant leucistic alligators kept at the park.
People are awestruck when they see them, and just one look into those icy, blue eyes will give you chills.
Says Mark McHugh, President & CEO of Gatorland. We’re excited to bring these thrilling animals to Florida.
Collected from deep in a Louisiana swamp, the ivory reptiles were part of a clutch of seventeen infants recovered by workers.
From the Louisiana Land and Exploration Company while surveying the area in 1986.
The group later brought the hatchlings to the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans.
Where only a few of the rare reptiles survived, before they brought to Gatorland last year.
This largest group of giant white gators in the world,” says Tim Williams of Gatorland.
These are not albino animals, they are what we call leucistic, which means they have a little bit of pigmentation around the mouth.
And a little touch on the tail and they have piercing blue eyes.
Leucistic animals have rare genetic condition that reduces the colour pigmentation in their skin.
Out of the 5 million american alligator population there thought to be only 12 leucistic gators.
They are just like alligators and they eat the same food,” explains Mr Williams.
The biggest concern is that they never would have survived in the wild.
They like little beacons out shining “come eat me.
They each ten to eleven plus feet in length and vulnerable to many predators because their lack of skin pigmentation deprives them of natural camouflage.
Piercing blue eyes pale skin rare white crocodile stands out like a sore thumb.
Due to their condition, the alligators housed in special enclosures to protect them from sunlight – and the unwanted attention of other males.
We have four white alligators here at Gatorland and because they are all males they cannot in the same enclosure.
As they are all very big and they would all fight with each other,” says Mr Williams.
They are also very sensitive to direct sunlight, so we have to keep them in an environment where they get a tiny bit of sunlight during the day.
And need to a bit of Vitamin D but that supplemented in their diet.
Where we feed them chicken, fish, red meat and vitamin supplements.
They each their own pool and a haul out area and wooden decking they crawl out and bask in the heat.
Tim and his team are now hoping to breed white alligators with two female American gators who carry the leucistic gene.
We also two normal females who carry the gene for the leusitic offspring,” says Mr Williams.
Our hope is that with some candle light, soft music and maybe a little wine.
We hoping to breed some leusitic gators in the near future,” says Mr Williams.
