Florida wildlife park welcomes 'beyond rare' white alligator with blue eyes. Watch video

Gartorland Orlando, a popular wildlife park in Florida, welcomed an exceptionally rare white alligator. The female leucistic alligator is one of the only eight in the entire world, according to the New York Post.

The news was announced by the Orlando zoo on Thursday which touted it as “beyond rare” and “absolutely extraordinary.” Oh boy, we have some exciting news here at Gatorland,” said Mark McHugh, president and CEO of Gatorland. “For the first time since a nest of leucistic alligators was discovered in the swamps of Louisiana 36 years ago, we have the first birth of a solid white alligator ever recorded from those original alligators.”

According to a statement by Gatorland, Leucistic alligators are the rarest genetic variation in the American alligator species.

Leucisim, or the white colour of the alligator is because of a partial loss of pigmentation. They often have patches of normal coloration on their skin and brilliant blue eyes. However, they are not to be confused with albino alligators, which have a complete loss of pigmentation and pink eyes.