White gators - the rarest creatures in the world - found in swamp land by fisherman
At just a foot long, these white gators are two of the rarest creatures in the world.
They were found in swamp land by a Louisiana fisherman and have now been given a new home in a New Orleans Zoo.
Weighing in at just over 14 pounds, the creatures are not albino, but are born with a genetic condition known as leucism, which means they have a reduction in all types of skin pigment.
Rendering them white in appearance bar a few freckles, these gators now join the other 10 white gators at Audubon Zoo, which is home to the total number known to exist in the world.
'The gators have been named Canal-igator and Chomp-itoulas and are named after Canal and Tchoupitoulas streets in New Orleans,' Sarah Brunette, Audubon Zoo's director of communication, said.
'They were found in the Mandalay National Wildlife Refuge near Houma in Louisiana and were handed to us by the state Wildlife and Fisheries department.
'This is the same area where our original 18 white gators were recovered in 1987
Famous as the home of the world's only gators with leucism, Audubon Zoo took care of 18 white baby gators in the late 1980s and out of that batch they still have 10.
'Our gators have been round the world and have been a symbol of our zoo,' Sarah added.
'These little guys have already spent two months in quarantine and will stay in the insectarium until they are old enough to join their older cousins in a few years.
'Alligators are known for eating young, they have no distinction between what is rare and what is not.'
Leucistic alligators rarely last long in the wild. Their bright appearance makes them easy pickings for birds of prey and large fish in the swamplands of Louisiana.
At just a foot long, these white gators are two of the rarest creatures in the world.
They were found in swamp land by a Louisiana fisherman and have now been given a new home in a New Orleans Zoo.
Weighing in at just over 14 pounds, the creatures are not albino, but are born with a genetic condition known as leucism, which means they have a reduction in all types of skin pigment.
Rendering them white in appearance bar a few freckles, these gators now join the other 10 white gators at Audubon Zoo, which is home to the total number known to exist in the world.
'The gators have been named Canal-igator and Chomp-itoulas and are named after Canal and Tchoupitoulas streets in New Orleans,' Sarah Brunette, Audubon Zoo's director of communication, said.
'They were found in the Mandalay National Wildlife Refuge near Houma in Louisiana and were handed to us by the state Wildlife and Fisheries department.
'This is the same area where our original 18 white gators were recovered in 1987
Famous as the home of the world's only gators with leucism, Audubon Zoo took care of 18 white baby gators in the late 1980s and out of that batch they still have 10.
'Our gators have been round the world and have been a symbol of our zoo,' Sarah added.
'These little guys have already spent two months in quarantine and will stay in the insectarium until they are old enough to join their older cousins in a few years.
'Alligators are known for eating young, they have no distinction between what is rare and what is not.'
Leucistic alligators rarely last long in the wild. Their bright appearance makes them easy pickings for birds of prey and large fish in the swamplands of Louisiana.
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