Crocodiles, Real and Imagined Pink

Ever heard of sewer crocs? Stories of them abound, most of them taking place in New York City’s sewers. As the folklore goes, urban families, returning from vacation in Florida, would bring back pet crocs for their children. When the crocs began to large too big for NYC’s tiny apartments, families would flush them down the toilet and the crocs, adept at surviving in watery abodes, would be swept underground to the sewers.

There, they ate rats and rubbish to stay alive, and without any predators, grow to huge proportions. Because the crocs spent the majority of their lives underground, not exposed to sunlight, they eventually lost their eyesight and the pigment in their hide, so that the reptile would grow to be completely albino, pure white in color with pink-red eyes. Many sewer workers claim to have been working underground when suddenly accosted by a massive white crocodile, and have only narrowly escaped – terrifying! Others, however, don’t believe their stories, saying that sewer crocs are more urban legend than real.

Whether or not you believe the hype, one thing is for certain about this story: the albino crocodile. There are only 20 known specimens of this sort of alligator in the world, as they are very sensitive to the wild, making them extremely rare. Because of this, not much is known about them or their behavior. We know that these crocodiles exist in the United States, and also in France, near a radioactive power plant that produces waters warm enough to cradle these fragile species. While we don’t know all that much about these fascinating pink-eyed creatures, we were able to find some photos of them for you – check them out here! And let us know what you think – do you believe that crocs roam the sewers of cities like New York?