The Audubon Nature Institute gained two new gators this past week, but they are not just ordinary alligators--they are baby white alligators. The two babies replaced some young gators at the Audubon Insectarium.
Because of the baby alligator's size, they could not join the adult white alligators at the Audubon Zoo. The babies must be kept separate because the adults will kill and eat the young. Only the natural mother would protect them from harm.
The two new babies are mostly white with a few spots of brown here and there. They have blue eyes. Because of the spots, these baby alligators are not classified as albino, but leucistic, which means they have a tiny bit of pigment.
The original white alligators were donated to the Audubon Zoo and are now adults. Some of the original gators have died, but there are still 10 housed at the zoo. The others are loaned out to other zoos around the United States for exhibit for a specified amount of time.
The two baby alligators will be housed in a Louisiana swamp-type exhibit at the Insectarium. They were found near Houma, Louisiana in the Mandalay National Wildlife Refuge. They have been given names to christen them as official New Orleans residents, Canal-igator and Chomp-itoulas, after two streets in New Orleans.
White alligators have been found in Louisiana on three separate times. The last finding was in 1994 of a white female that later died in captivity.
Canal-igator and Chomp-itoulas will reside at the Audubon Insectarium until they are 3 to 4 feet long and outgrow the tank they are housed in.
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