Albino alligators make snappy, happy home in Paris


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PARIS (AP) - Two incredibly rare albino alligators have arrived at their new French home _ a Paris aquarium _ after being bought from a reptile collector in Florida.

Thursday's snappy new reptiles, who are just over one year old, are part of an elite group of no more than 30 such alligators in the world.

Michel Hignette, head of the Porte Doree aquarium, says aquariums save the lives of these reptiles since they cannot survive in the wild.

Their recessive gene causes bright, white skin that burns in the sun and quickly attracts hungry predators.

It's not clear yet how the two will hit it off as they grow up _ as it's still too early to tell if they are male or female.

(Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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