{"id":135843,"date":"2025-09-06T00:12:10","date_gmt":"2025-09-06T00:12:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/135843\/"},"modified":"2025-09-06T00:12:10","modified_gmt":"2025-09-06T00:12:10","slug":"happy-hatchday-claude-bay-areas-beloved-albino-alligator-celebrates-the-big-3-0","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/135843\/","title":{"rendered":"Happy Hatchday, Claude! Bay Area\u2019s Beloved Albino Alligator Celebrates the Big 3-0"},"content":{"rendered":"

The party won\u2019t just happen inside the Academy\u2019s walls. Claude\u2019s presence will be felt across San Francisco throughout the month. His mascot popped up at a Golden State Valkyries game on Tuesday and will make an appearance <\/a>at the Gardens of Golden Gate Park\u2019s Flower Piano sometime this month. A citywide \u201cClaude Quest\u201d is planned on Sept. 5 and will have plushie Claudes scattered around the Bay Area for lucky seekers to find and keep.<\/p>\n

For grown-up fans, the Academy\u2019s popular NightLife<\/a> will get a Louisiana twist on Sept. 11, where guests can enjoy rice balls topped with cajun chicken jambalaya, honoring Claude\u2019s origins in the bayous of Louisiana.<\/p>\n

The following week, on Sept. 17, the museum will host an upscale celebration they are calling a Swamp Soir\u00e9e<\/a>, with a seated dinner prepared by San Francisco\u2019s own Top Chef winner, Melissa King.<\/p>\n

Claude himself, though, will remain in his swamp habitat \u2014 lounging on his favorite heated rock or floating motionless just beneath the water. As an albino alligator, Claude lacks pigment in his skin and eyes, giving him his signature white appearance and pinkish-red eyes.<\/p>\n

\"\"Claude moves around infrequently because he is an ambush predator. He\u2019s just following his natural instinct to stay still and undetectable in water in case something swims by that he wants to eat. His minimal movement also helps him conserve his energy. (Courtesy of California Academy of Sciences)<\/p>\n

The condition also means his vision is poor, so he relies heavily on sound. For years, the Academy\u2019s care team trained him with audio cues for feedings and health checks.<\/p>\n

Like most alligators, Claude continuously loses and regrows teeth \u2014 up to 3,000 in a lifetime. Visitors sometimes spot his shed teeth sparkling at the bottom of the enclosure. He shares an enclosure with three female snapping turtles \u2014 Donatello, Raphael and Morla \u2014 who are estimated to be at least 50 years old.<\/p>\n

Claude arrived at the Academy after taking a four-day road trip from Florida to California in the back of a pickup truck.<\/p>\n

\"\"Claude is often a picture of serenity, whether on his rock or floating in his swamp. (Courtesy of Gayle Laird \u00a9 California Academy of Sciences)<\/p>\n

For fans who can\u2019t make it in person, the Academy launched a \u201cClaude-cam\u201d<\/a> earlier this year. Viewers around the world can watch him swim, bask, or snooze. They can even submit birthday messages<\/a> through the Academy\u2019s website.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s really something new happening every day. It\u2019s going to be a fun, big birthday bash all month long. And we are so thrilled to welcome everyone to join,\u201d Peach said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe really brings joy to so many people each year.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The party won\u2019t just happen inside the Academy\u2019s walls. Claude\u2019s presence will be felt across San Francisco throughout…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":135844,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[79,201],"class_list":{"0":"post-135843","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wildlife","8":"tag-science","9":"tag-wildlife"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/135843","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=135843"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/135843\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/135844"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=135843"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=135843"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=135843"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}