Rare white alligator at New Orleans zoo is first in US to get cataract surgery

NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — A rare white alligator from the Audubon Zoo has made history as the first alligator in the United States to undergo cataract surgery.

Victor, a 7-foot-long, 15-year-old, blue-eyed white alligator, had been struggling with his vision, making it difficult for him to eat.

“He was having trouble eating and had a cloudy eye,” said Dr. Renee Carter with the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine.

Zookeepers noticed Victor wasn’t able to see food placed right in front of him, even when using tongs.

“We noticed that when we were trying to feed him with the 3-foot tongs with pre-killed prey like rats, quail, and rabbits, he wasn’t able to grab the food like other alligators. He would follow shadows to get his food,” said Ashley Rabenau, a zookeeper at Audubon Zoo.

Concerned for his well-being, zookeepers brought Victor to the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine, where specialists confirmed he had cataracts.

“We ended up doing cataract surgery on his left eye,” Carter explained.

According to the zoo, this is the first documented case of an alligator undergoing cataract surgery in the United States.

“We had to approach the surgery a bit different. We kind of had to strategize and work with his eye to see how he’d respond to medications,” said Dr. Hannah Gafen at LSU School of Veterinary Medicine.

Operating on an alligator’s eye came with unique challenges.

“Alligator eyes are on the top part of their skulls, so when they are submerged in water, they can still see above the water. For us as surgeons, it made it tricky to access the eye, positioning him was difficult,” Carter said.

Following the successful procedure, Victor is recovering well and can now spot his food with ease.

“We wanted Victor to go back to normal Victor behavior, that, as surgeons, make us the happiest,” Carter added.

To aid in his recovery, LSU veterinarians even installed special tubing to help administer post-surgery eye drops.

Victor has leucism, a condition that results in partial loss of pigmentation, giving him his striking white appearance with a few green spots. This is different from albinism, where there is a total loss of pigmentation, resulting in pink eyes.

The Audubon Zoo is also home to another rare alligator named Two Spots.

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