FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (March 13, 2009)

New alligator exhibit opens April 18 for Dallas Roars!

DALLAS - The legendary white creature with piercing pink eyes rising from the new swamp in the Pierre A. Fontaine Bird & Reptile Building is not a ghost. That fact becomes obvious when 9-foot Boudreaux opens his massive jaws to take a fish or piece of chicken from his keeper. The male albino American alligator joins two traditionally pigmented female alligators and other swamp residents in the new Ghosts from the Bayou exhibit at the Dallas Zoo, which opens on April 18, the first weekend of Dallas Roars!

“The bayou is a special habitat that is rich in biodiversity,” said Gregg Hudson, executive director of the Dallas Zoo and The Children’s Aquarium at Fair Park. “Alligators always fascinate people, and the exhibit provides an opportunity to talk about nature and conservation and the recovery of a species that was almost extinct.”

Visitors are welcomed to the new habitat by two 3-foot albino alligators in an exhibit near the swamp entrance. Upon entering the swamp, visitors travel along a boardwalk that is only 8 feet above the new alligators – but safe from their giant jaws. The exhibit features a tin-roofed shack with water trickling into the 3-foot-deep pond. The alligators have a 15-foot pool surrounded by a sandy beach and a muddy bank with cypress roots shooting upward. Several smaller exhibits nearby house other creatures of the swamp, including snapping turtles and copperhead, cottonmouth, and rat snakes.

“Albino alligators are extremely rare in the wild,” says Ruston Hartdegen, curator of herpetology at the Dallas Zoo. “Their white appearance makes them highly visible to larger predators while they are still young. Therefore, they are unlikely to survive very long in the wild.”

Adult alligators are the top predator in the freshwater swamps and bayous in southeastern United States and along the Gulf coast. They eat fish, amphibians, snakes, nutria, opossums, and birds -- even larger prey. They also serve as scavengers and consume carrion.

“Alligators play a key role in managing the ecology of the areas in which they reside,” said Bradley Lawrence, reptile supervisor. “In addition to keeping the small mammal population under control, they serve other purposes. Heron and egret rookeries develop above alligator habitats because the alligators protect their nests from invading opossums and raccoons.”

Turtles lay eggs in alligator nests for protection, Lawrence adds. The pile of mulch and other nesting materials keeps the eggs warm. When the tiny turtles hatch, they crawl past the alligator to get to the water. The alligators also make wallows in the ground that are utilized by other animals for nests or water holes.

“We will take this opportunity to talk about the myths surrounding alligators,” Lawrence says. “Alligators are shy and do not attack humans unless they feel threatened when humans walk their pets nearby or approach during breeding season. They also are slow; their bodies are built for life in the water. A person could walk away from an alligator.”

“The American alligators are representative of crocodilians as a group that descended from dinosaurs,” Hartdegen explains. “Just 30 years ago, American alligators were highly endangered due to over-hunting and habitat loss. Through conservation and proper management, the species has recovered and can be sustainable managed.”