The Values of Angelo's Story

Why are some alligators white?    

Angelo isn’t an ordinary American Alligator.  For an alligator to have white skin, it’s a rare genetic abnormality; either albanism or leucism.  Leucism (pronounced loo-sism) is similar to albanism only it’s even less common!  Like albanism, it is a genetic mutation carried on by a recessive, or “masked” gene.  One of the main differences to spot between the two is that leucistic alligators, like Angelo, have blue eyes and occasional dark spots on their skin.  Albino alligators are completely lacking in pigment and even have pink eyes!    

Living in New Orleans, my kids and I go to the Audubon Zoo and the Aquarium of the Americas whenever we can.  The zoo is one of our very favorite places to visit!  At either location you can see real life leucistic alligators like Angelo, up close and in person.  There’s a sign outside of their swampy exhibit in the zoo that calls them “The Jewel of the Swamp” and they’re truly a sight to behold.  If you’re not local, next time you’re in town I would definitely recommend adding seeing them to your to do list.  These leucistic alligators are who Angelo’s character is based on.    

A white alligator like Angelo, was born to stand out!  A normal colored alligator can easily camouflage itself into it’s swampy home but Angelo can’t hide who he is.  I’ve always been fascinated by white alligators but this is a big part of the reason I chose to make Angelo white in this book.  That and I just think they’re really fun to paint!