Jaws Will Drop: Great White Gator Visits Maritime Aquarium

Now's your chance to see a very rare "great white of the wetlands," an eight-and-a-half-foot-long white alligator. It may be the most rare live animal you will ever encounter, said Jack Schneider, curator at The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk. Of some 5 million American alligators thought to be alive today, just 44 are white, and The Maritime Aquarium has one on display now through Labor Day outside by the Norwalk River and included in aquarium admission.

This "Cajun curiosity" was hatched at an alligator farm in Cut Off, La., and raised at Alligator Farm Zoological Park in St. Augustine, Fla. White alligators are so rare that legend says staring into their eyes brings prosperity and good fortune. Such is its fame that a Virginia company, IPMS Inc., adopted the white alligator as corporate mascot.

A visit to The Maritime Aquarium by another white alligator in summer 2005 was extremely popular with visitors, Schneider said. Aside from being creamy white, it looks and acts like a regular gator. The animal's white skin is often described as looking like white chocolate.

The white alligator visiting the aquarium this summer is an albino. Albinos have a genetic oddity that prevents them producing melanin, a dark pigment natural coloration. Thus, they are entirely white, except for pinkish eyes. Their eyes, lacking pigmentation, appear pink from blood vessels showing through colorless corneas, Schneider explained.

White alligators were unknown until the advent of commercial alligator farming. They cannot hide from predators, and so do not survive without human intervention, he added.

Another liability for white alligators is that being cold-blooded reptiles they, like all alligators, rely upon the warmth of their surroundings.

In nature, normally colored alligators warm themselves by floating near the water's surface or crawling onto rocks or logs to bask in the sun. Unfortunately, a white gator's pale hide sunburns. For that reason, The Maritime Aquarium built a special shaded enclosure with a heated pool and warming stone.

Joining the white gator are other unusual bayou country animals, including a 55-pound alligator snapping turtle, the largest freshwater turtle species in North America. They have large, powerful jaws and a "lure" in their tongue to attract prey. Also on display is a 3-foot-long, 2-toed Amphiuma.

It may look like an eel or snake but is actually an aquatic salamander with very tiny legs. It has large, sharp teeth that can deliver a powerful bite, Schneider said.

Included in the swampland exhibit are interpretive displays explaining the need for wetlands conservation, both in alligator country as well as around Long Island Sound where marsh preservation here is analogous to swamp protection down south.

IF YOU GO:

"Great White Alligator" runs through Labor Day.

The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk is located at 10 N. Water Street. For information call

(203) 852-0700, or visit www.maritimeaquarium.org. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.

The Maritime is the only Aquarium focused on Long Island Sound presents sharks, seals, river otters, sea turtles, jellies and more than 100 other species from Long Island Sound and its watershed. In addition, two staffed Touch Tanks, an Ocean Playspace for toddlers, and a Marine Lab allows visitors see how we care for and raise animals, including baby seahorses and jellies.

An IMAX theater shows documentaries during the day and Hollywood films in the evenings.