An alligator that made headlines — and captured animal lovers' hearts — earlier this month after she was found in Florida with thetop half of her jaw missinghas found a new home.
“Gatorland just received a new alligator from a lake near Sanford,” thepostread. “This little female gator lost her complete upper jaw from another gator fight or possibly from a boat propeller. She had basically no chance of surviving in the wild with such a severe injury. Here at Gatorland, our dedicated team will give her lots of loving care to live out her life in Alligator Paradise.”
The post included a video of Gatorland staff introducing the animal and explaining her story.
“We got a call about this gator a few weeks ago. It hit social media and blew up. We went out there and got him,” one employee said as he held the small reptile, who has since been determined to be female.
The injured alligator is now being cared for at Gatorland in Orlando, Florida.Gatorland Facebook/AMAZING ANIMALS+/TMX/Mega
Gatorland Facebook/AMAZING ANIMALS+/TMX/Mega
The staff asked for people’s help coming up with a name for the alligator and explained what was next for the resilient animal.
“If you look, this injury is from a long time ago. We’ll have our vet take a look at it, make sure he’s okay. But right now, he’s going into quarantine,” a second Gatorland staff member said.
Mike Hileman, director of Gatorland, toldWINKthe alligator has likely subsisted on frogs and snails since injuring her jaw. “That wound that she has has healed over. So she has been able to feed herself without a top jaw for some time now. That’s impressive,” he said.
Due to her meager food options, the animal is significantly underweight. The park shared in another Facebookposton Saturday that the care team would focus on nourishing the alligator and acclimating her to her new home.
Due to its severe jaw injury, the alligator had been subsisting on snails and frogs.Gatorland Facebook/AMAZING ANIMALS+/TMX/Mega
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“We have the most amazing staff of dedicated individuals along with our veterinarian who 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,” the Florida park wrote.
At the time, Shadix contacted the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, who told her the agency had officers searching for the alligator. The animal was finally rescued on Thursday and brought to Gatorland.
Hileman said the alligator is settling into her new home as her story continues to captivate people. “I mean, she’s really getting a lot of attention right now. I hope it doesn’t go to her head and become a little diva,” he joked. “But right now, she’s very good, very down to earth. Very humble at this point.”
source: people.com
