Posted: Wed Sep 22, 2004 3:57 pm
Escaped gator Chucky caught in Alabama
(CNN) -- It was man against beast for a three-hour struggle, but in the end, Chucky the alligator was back in custody, five days after escaping from an Alabama zoo during Hurricane Ivan.
Chucky -- 12 feet long and more than 1,000 pounds -- was captured Tuesday night by a team brought in from the Orlando, Florida, theme park Gatorland to track down the huge reptile in Gulf Shores, Alabama.
"By early evening, the team had [its sights] on a smaller alligator to capture when Chucky was spotted lurking in a nearby water hole," Gatorland's Web site said.
Tim Williams, called the dean of gator wrestling at the Florida park, said Chucky put up a fight but eventually was placed in a new enclosure.
The Web site said that the "daredevil team used the cover of night to surprise and outwit the alligator."
Chucky was one of several alligators that escaped from the Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo in Gulf Shores when storm surges from Hurricane Ivan demolished the facility Thursday.
Officials had told area residents to be cautious, warning that Chucky has been fed by humans for years and could approach people if he sees them.
"If you're a male -- say 6-foot-5 -- and he wants you, you're his," zoo general manager Kate Raymond said last week.
Some of the other escaped alligators weren't as lucky as Chucky. Authorities shot them so they wouldn't harm humans trying to clean up debris.
The zoo evacuated animals that couldn't swim ahead of the storm.
Chucky has been the main attraction at the zoo for more than a decade. He was brought to the park 14 years ago after being found in a nearby area. Officials said he could be as old as 35.
(CNN) -- It was man against beast for a three-hour struggle, but in the end, Chucky the alligator was back in custody, five days after escaping from an Alabama zoo during Hurricane Ivan.
Chucky -- 12 feet long and more than 1,000 pounds -- was captured Tuesday night by a team brought in from the Orlando, Florida, theme park Gatorland to track down the huge reptile in Gulf Shores, Alabama.
"By early evening, the team had [its sights] on a smaller alligator to capture when Chucky was spotted lurking in a nearby water hole," Gatorland's Web site said.
Tim Williams, called the dean of gator wrestling at the Florida park, said Chucky put up a fight but eventually was placed in a new enclosure.
The Web site said that the "daredevil team used the cover of night to surprise and outwit the alligator."
Chucky was one of several alligators that escaped from the Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo in Gulf Shores when storm surges from Hurricane Ivan demolished the facility Thursday.
Officials had told area residents to be cautious, warning that Chucky has been fed by humans for years and could approach people if he sees them.
"If you're a male -- say 6-foot-5 -- and he wants you, you're his," zoo general manager Kate Raymond said last week.
Some of the other escaped alligators weren't as lucky as Chucky. Authorities shot them so they wouldn't harm humans trying to clean up debris.
The zoo evacuated animals that couldn't swim ahead of the storm.
Chucky has been the main attraction at the zoo for more than a decade. He was brought to the park 14 years ago after being found in a nearby area. Officials said he could be as old as 35.
(they removed the gators and added a some new fences around and above the existing ones)