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The California Academy of Sciences is using its Día de los Muertos celebration this year to honor the life of Claude, the albino alligator who delighted visitors for nearly two decades.
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Dia de los Muertos at NightLife: 6-10 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 22. $26; must be 21 and older to attend. California Academy of Sciences, 55 Music Concourse Drive, S.F. www.calacademy.org.
Claude died at age 30 in December 2025, devastating animal lovers across the Bay Area who regarded him as Cal Academy’s unofficial mascot. Now the institution, which was his home since 2008, is memorializing Claude with a sculpture made by Carolina Argote, an artist at Sacramento’s Balam Arts.
The work is in the style of alebrijes, a type of colorful, handmade Mexican folk art, and will be unveiled during Cal Academy’s after-hours Día de los Muertos event on Thursday, Oct. 22.
Tickets for the 21-and-older event, part of the institution’s recurring NightLife series, cost $26 and are on sale now.
The evening will begin with a traditional Aztec blessing by Xiuhcoatl Danza Azteca at the main entrance. It will also feature live music and dance performances, local Latine vendors, a photo booth, calavera (skull) face painting and more.
When Claude arrived at Cal Academy from a Louisiana alligator farm nearly two decades ago, he became its first albino alligator. He went on to become one of the museum’s most sought-after attractions.
After his death, Music Concourse Drive, where Cal Academy is located, was renamed Claude the Alligator Way.
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This article originally published at San Francisco’s beloved albino alligator Claude is getting a Día de los Muertos tribute.