The South Carolina Aquarium’s Jaw-Dropping New Addition
This spring, guests will have an opportunity to see the most visible new addition to the South Carolina Aquarium’s animal collection, a rare albino alligator. You won’t want to miss it – actually – you won’t be able to miss it.
One of less than 50 in the world and unable to protect itself in the wild, this new reptile lacks melanin, or coloration, pigment in its eyes and skin causing it to be completely translucent from teeth to tail and very sensitive to sunlight. Hitting the scales at over 150 pounds and reaching seven and a half feet in length, this is jaw-dropping fun for the whole family to see. Residing in the completely renovated Blackwater Swamp exhibit, guests will see this scaly creature up-close as well as learn more about South Carolina swamps with a life-size Cypress Tree full of buttons and interactive activities. See additional new species as well, such as gopher tortoises, rattle snakes and screech owls.
The Aquarium’s albino alligator comes from the Lowry Zoo in Tampa, Fla., but was originally hatched in Louisiana under state protection. Unfortunately, as with many alligator nests, the albino nests were destroyed or displaced during Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and no known albinos have hatched successfully since.
The future is much brighter for the American alligator species at large. Once close to extinction, the American alligator has been successfully replenished in the animal world thanks in part to the Endangered Species Act. Get up close to these toothy reptiles at the South Carolina Aquarium. For more information, visit scaquarium.org or call 843-577-FISH.