Albino Alligators stolen from Brazil Zoo

[pantsonfire321@aol.com]

White gators missing from Brazil zoo

The Associated Press

Sunday, January 6th 2008, 4:00 AM

SAO PAULO, Brazil - Seven rare albino alligators have disappeared from a Brazilian university zoo, and authorities suspect animal smugglers stole them.

The theft at the Federal University of Mato Grosso was carried out sometime between Monday, when the alligators were last fed, and Wednesday morning, when a zookeeper noticed they were gone, zoo director Itamar Assumpcao said.

There were no signs of a break-in, he added.

A federal police spokeswoman, who asked not to be identified because of departmental regulations, said, "We believe they may have been stolen to be sold abroad or to animal smugglers here in Brazil."

Brazil accounts for about 15% of the world's illegal animal trading, worth $10 billion to $20 billion annual around the globe.

The alligators are extremely rare and are worth about $9,700 apiece. The albino alligators, born around 2005, are the result of 10 years of inbreeding.

"We know of no albino alligator born in the wild, probably because it would be impossible for it to survive," Assumpcao said.

"The lack of coloring would make it difficult if not impossible for them to hide from predators."

[lemon_and_mint]

those must be pretty alligators.