Creature Countdowns
No. 10 - Albino Alligator
| Despite the urban legend about albino alligators, there is no evidence to suggest that these fair-skinned animals live in the sewer system beneath the island of Manhattan. However, they are occasionally found in the wild. Albinism is a condition caused by a lack of pigmentation in the skin and hair, giving a person or animal a whitish appearance. When it occurs in alligators, animals whose fitness depends on blending into the green/brown environment, it threatens their very survival. After all, a ghost-white baby alligator is extremely vulnerable to predation and its coloration would make it a lousy hunter. Fortunately, albino alligators found in the wild are usually collected and brought to zoos, aquariums or farms that have facilities to care for them. |
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