Reggie has been in the zoo for a year now.
We followed the story about Reggie, the suburban alligator, almost from the start:
Alligators in the Sewers – Still!
Alligators in the Sewers – Part IV
Alligators in the Sewers – Part V
Alligators in the Sewers – Part VI
Alligators in the Sewers – Part VII
Alligators in the Sewers – Epilogue?
Alligators in the Sewers – Reggie, Where Ya Been?
Alligators in the Sewers – The Epilogue
Unfortunately, some of the earlier posts (Parts I, II and III) were lost when we converted from our old blog format to WordPress.
The story started when a San Pedro resident introduced the alligator to Machado Lake in a Harbor City Park when he decided that he couldn’t keep his exotic pet any longer. Authorities later traced the animal to the resident and brought appropriate charges.
The alligator, however, managed to elude potential captors for a couple of years and laid low in the park’s lake. The ‘gator became a celebrity in his own right as sightings by park visitors continued to be reported.
A year ago, a team from the Los Angeles Zoo managed to snare the reclusive reptile.
Here’s a report on the health and welfare of our favorite ‘gator from the Daily Breeze:
It was a year ago today that Harbor City’s famous gator-on-the-run finally met his match.
Sunning himself on the shoreline of Machado Lake, the unsuspecting alligator was nabbed at 3:30 p.m. May 24, 2007, bound and blindfolded, and whisked off to the Los Angeles Zoo.
Today he’s featured in the first exhibit that greets visitors as they enter the main gates of the zoo in Griffith Park.
The excitement over Reggie has died down, said Ian Recchio the zoo reptile curator who helped capture Reggie.
But not entirely.
Most, in fact, remember the tale quite well, though some need prompting.
“They all tried to catch him, but he out-foxed them all,” remarked James Jackson of Fontana, who watched the story all unfold on television.
“Oh, that’s Reggie? The one that was out there in the lake?” said Lucindy Jetter, a city parks worker who brought a group of children to the zoo on a field trip.
Being from Redondo Beach, Jisica Watkins remembers Reggie well.
“He must be getting some good care, he’s a pretty good size,” she said.
Indeed, Reggie is “doing great,” said Recchio, although he hasn’t grown much since he arrived at the zoo a year ago.
“He’s pretty much about the same length and weight,” Recchio said, adding the slow growth isn’t unusual. “He’s almost exactly 7 feet long and weighs 120 pounds.”
And healthy?
“He’s the epitome of a healthy alligator,” Recchio said.