Published 18:21 IST, December 14th 2019
Video of Albino alligator enjoying back scrub at North Carolina Aquarium goes viral
In a video, an albino alligator can be seen enjoying a back scrub by the staff of the aquarium. The video was shared by the North Carolina Aquarium on Facebook.
A video from North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher is grabbing eyeballs on social media for being too adorable. In the video, an albino alligator can be seen enjoying a back scrub by the staff of the aquarium. The video was shared by the North Carolina Aquarium on Facebook page which has since garnered more than 28,000 views and over 300 likes. The video is getting a lot of attention on social media ever since it was shared a month ago.
Luna living in aquarium since 2009
The aquarium staff gives alligators a regular scrub and the concerned video was about them removing algae build-up on their scutes. The light green alligator in the video is Luna and the 14-year-old reptile has been living in the aquarium since 2009. There are only 50 albino alligators in the wild and it is unlikely that she would have survived outside. Luna lives in the habitat with natural coloured alligators which can also be seen in the video.
One of the users named Lena Rodziewicz asked the North Carolina Aquarium, "Can you explain why such a procedure is necessary? Wild living animals don't have access to such convenience, how do they deal with it in the wild?" To which the aquarium explained that Luna is an albino alligator and she would have not likely survive in the wild due to her coloring and predators. The aquarium said that the natural behavior of wild alligators is moving their bodies against things and crawling through areas where they may receive a natural rubbing or scrub but that is not possible for Luna in the habitat. So, the aquarium staff gives Luna a regular scrubbing to keep the algae in check.
Updated 18:53 IST, December 14th 2019