Forget the newest slot machine or the hottest table game. The latest attraction at Louisiana’s Paragon Casino Resort is a pair of exceptionally rare albino alligators.
Owned and operated by the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana, Paragon is welcoming two new members to its Bayou Atrium: rare albino alligator sisters. The additions to the alligator habitat will officially be greeted during a free public event scheduled a week from today on Saturday (July 25) at 4 pm CDT.
The Paragon alligator habitat opened at the casino in 2007 as part of an extensive, multimillion-dollar expansion of the tribal casino. The family-friendly exhibit includes an indoor bayou pond featuring cypress trees and live gators.
Paragon, located in Marksville, has a casino floor that spans 65,000 square feet with over 900 slot machines and a dozen live dealer table games. The resort includes three hotel towers with more than 500 rooms and suites, a full-service spa and salon, indoor and outdoor pools, a supervised child care activity center, 75,000 square feet of meeting space, and an 18-hole golf course.
Alligator Significance
Alligators are deeply rooted in the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe’s culture. The tribe’s emergence story tells the tale of the blue and red alligator, who served as protectors of the Tunica people’s origins.
Albino alligators are especially important to the tribe and many other Native American communities in the South. Because of their rarity, Native people regard albino gators and other albino animals as “extraordinary beings” associated with spirituality and renewal.
“Welcoming these rare alligators to Paragon is about more than adding a unique attraction to our Bayou Atrium. This ceremony gives us an opportunity to celebrate the alligator’s cultural significance to the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe while inviting our guests and community to experience something truly special,” Marshall Ray Sampson Sr., general manager of Paragon Casino Resort, said in a release to Casino.org.
“While traditions vary among tribes, white alligators are recognized in Southeastern Native traditions as reminders that every living thing has a purpose and that nature deserves care and stewardship,” the Paragon release explained.
How Rare Is an Albino Alligator?
Albino alligators are exceptionally rare. Florida Gulf Coast University estimates that there are only about 100 to 200 in the world, with most living in captivity due to the severe challenges they face in the wild.
Albino alligators lack camouflage, making them susceptible to predators when they are young, including wading birds, fish, large snakes, and adult alligators. Albino alligators also have sun sensitivity and suffer from poor eyesight, hampering their chances of preying on food should they reach adulthood.
Albinism is an autosomal recessive trait, meaning both parents must contribute a recessive gene for the individual to be an albino.
