Claude, the albino alligator who has been a favorite pet to the city and revered resident of the California Academy of Sciences for almost two decades, has died at the age of 30 of a suspected infection.

It was just this past April that Claude, the mascot of the California Academy of Sciences museum, got his own webcam — which was sponsored by local AI company Anthropic, after the company named their flagship AI assistant Claude.

And in September, Claude the albino alligator celebrated his 30th "hatch day," with the museum hosting events to celebrate including a $650-per-person dinner cooked by Top Chef winner Melissa King. The Academy even gave out Claude plushies at a NightLife event devoted to the birthday.

Now those keepsakes will serve as sad reminders of Claude, who passed on sometime in the last day or so, according to a social media announcement.

"Claude’s dedicated care team had been monitoring him closely in recent weeks due to a waning appetite, and he was recently moved behind-the-scenes to undergo treatment for a suspected infection," the Academy of Sciences says. "He received the best possible care from the Steinhart Aquarium veterinarian and animal care teams. This heartbreaking outcome is not what we hoped for."

They plan to have a necropsy performed at UC Davis in the coming days to provide more information about Claude's cause of death.

"We know that the magnitude of this loss will be felt in proportion to how beloved Claude was by so many across the Bay Area and beyond," the museum writes. "Claude was celebrated as the unofficial mascot of the Academy and San Francisco itself, and regularly received fan mail, gifts, and artwork from adoring fans around the world.... We know how much Claude meant to so many of you, and that love means so much to us."

Claude came to the Academy in 2008 after first being found by an alligator rescue organization in the swamplands of Louisiana. Albino alligators are extremely rare, with only around 100 or 200 believed to be out in the world, and with his poor eyesight, Claude would not have stood much of a chance of survival in the wild.

As we noted on his birthday, Claude was originally housed in his artificial grotto with a non-albino female alligator named Bonnie who later bit off one of his fingers and was rehoused elsewhere.

The Academy of Sciences says they plan to hold a public memorial for Claude with a date to be announced.

They say that condolences and memories of Claude can be shared via email at [email protected], or by snail mail to California Academy of Sciences, Attn: Digital Engagement, 55 Music Concourse Drive, San Francisco, CA 94118.