SUN-SENTINEL (Florida) 26 August 03 Amber skin makes Mellow Yellow a rare gator in Panhandle pond
Destin (AP): Being green would be easy, but her pale amber skin makes Mellow Yellow a rare alligator who would face a hard and probably short life in the wild.
The three-foot-long yellow gator shares a semiprivate tank at Fudpucker's restaurant with one other alligator, Moonpie, a male whose main job is to provide contrast for her unusual coloration.
They are kept separated from 79 other alligators, all the usual color of mildewed rocks, in a pond known as Gator Beach where visitors can observe and even feed the reptiles.
Jennifer Small, spokeswoman for the restaurant, has been contacting experts to learn more about the reptile's condition since Mellow Yellow arrived last month from a South Florida alligator farm.
``All of them said they've heard of yellow alligators,'' she said. ``They said they've never seen any.''
One reason is that they are abnormal, the result of a genetic malfunction that causes them to lose part of their skin color similar to the way albino animals lose all pigmentation, said Lt. Stan Kirkland, of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Another is that their lack of normal camouflage makes them easy for predators, mainly larger alligators, to spot, Kirkland said Tuesday.
``In the wild they don't typically last very long because they are a marked critter,'' he said. ``They are just a meal waiting to happen.''
Mellow Yellow is kept in the tank on a shaded deck at the restaurant. She is on loan, as are all the gators at the restaurant, from the alligator farm where she was hatched 2˝ years ago, said Fudpucker's co-owner Tim Edwards.
The gators are brought here when they are between 18 inches and three feet long and remain until they grow to five or six feet, Edwards said. Then they return to the farm or other attractions capable of handling larger animals but will never be harvested, he said.
Fudpucker's has a state permit that allows customers to feed the alligators -- normally illegal -- a special diet they can buy from the restaurant, Edwards said. Proceeds are donated to the Emerald Coast Wildlife Refuge.
Unlike the general population of gators, Mellow Yellow and Moonpie are often taken out of their tank by handlers to be touched, held and photographed.
``A lot of the people, at first they say, 'What's wrong with her? Is she sick? Why is she so white?' `` said handler Brenda Davenport. ``We explain how rare she is.''
During dinner hour Monday, Davenport sat near the tank, holding Moonpie and answering questions.
``Is he real?'' asked 3-year-old Harrison Maxwell, on vacation with his family from Nashville.
``He's very real,'' she answered.
Photo: In sharp contrast. Mellow Yellow, right, a three-foot-long yellow gator, is photographed Tuesday along with one other alligator, right, a male whose main job is to provide contrast for her unusual coloration. They are kept separated from 79 other alligators, all the usual color of mildewed rocks, in a pond known as Gator Beach where visitors can observe and even feed the reptiles. (AP Photo/Mati Darr-Welch)
Photos at URL link
Amber skin makes Mellow Yellow a rare gator in Panhandle pond
