Rescued alligator with top half of its jaw missing gets new home at Gatorland, Florida
The alligator that was rescued last week after being reported wandering in Central Florida with the top half of its jaw missing is now under the care of an Orlando alligator park, according to a news release.
The animal was taken on Saturday to Gatorland, a gator park in Orlando, where a veterinarian is “doing a full examination of the alligator, and the team is dedicated to its complete care at the park,” the park said Monday in a statement to CNN.
The trapper who brought the alligator to Gatorland believed the animal “was possibly injured by a boat propeller and survived,” the statement added.
Gatorland did not provide new details on the alligator on Monday, but in a Facebook post on Saturday said that the staff at the park “will be watching over her closely for the next few days concentrating on getting her to eat in a stress-free environment so that she can enjoy her new forever home here in Alligator Paradise.”
Gator had ‘basically no chance of surviving’
Savannah Boan, crocodilian enrichment coordinator at Gatorland, said in a Facebook video posted on Saturday that the injury seemed old, and the animal would be placed into quarantine.
The alligator “had basically no chance of surviving in the wild with such a severe injury,” the park added.
The alligator was rescued Thursday evening in Florida after it was seen with its upper jaw cut off at Wilson’s Landing Park in Sanford in late August, and photos of it circulated across social media.
On Facebook, Gatorland is also asking for help in naming the alligator.
Her snout was sliced off just before her eyes, likely from a boat propeller, according to Gatorland Park. The park has started taking suggestions for the rescued gator’s name, ranging from “Gummy” to “Jaw” to “Bottom Feeder” to “Gator McGatorface.” Someone even suggested the name “Topless.”
“Topless, oh that’s a little racy for a family park,” Boan said
During an interview with CNN, Boan got an exciting update on the gator.
“Breaking news,” she said. “The new gator held a meatball on her tongue for 5 to 10 minutes and then spit it off.”
Another gator – named Trapjaw – has a similar, though less severe, injury. The park has been able to train him to eat meatballs without needing to chew.
“Kinda kick ’em back like a man in a bar drinking a beer,” Boan described it.
The park hopes its newest resident will do likewise.