The largest alligator in\u00a0Gatorland\u2019s history has died.<\/p>\n
Buddy, who measured about 13 feet, 8 inches long and weighed nearly half a ton, had been in failing health for a while, according to an announcement on Gatorland\u2019s social media accounts<\/a>. The animal was under veterinary care, the post said.<\/p>\n \u201cHe was on and off medication, getting extra vitamins and we did everything we could to keep him comfortable,\u201d it said. \u201cThose cold snaps this year certainly didn\u2019t make things any easier on him. Our team here at Gatorland would find him early every morning to make sure he was OK.\u201d<\/p>\n Gatorland officials estimate that Buddy was between 60 and 70 years old and was born at the attraction, which opened in 1949.<\/p>\n \u201cRecordkeeping of animals wasn\u2019t a big to-do way back when,\u201d Brandon Fisher<\/a>, director of media relations, said Wednesday.<\/p>\n \u201cHe was definitely a gentle giant,\u201d said Fisher, a 20-year Gatorland veteran.\u00a0 \u201cBut if he didn\u2019t like your ways, he let it be known.\u201d<\/p>\n Gatorland<\/a>, located on South Orange Blossom Trail, is home to thousands of reptiles, including some that live in a breeding marsh. The population is a combination of natives to the park and rescued animals from elsewhere.<\/p>\n Typically, Buddy stayed in the north end of the breeding marsh, near the attraction\u2019s train station.<\/p>\n \u201cEach male has their own little territory. They let in who they want to let in,\u201d Fisher said. \u201cOf course, he had his girlfriends over the years allowed in there, and from time to time, he let certain males in there.\u201d<\/p>\n Buddy\u2019s size made him a draw, Fisher said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe used to joke around that he looked like a Buick swimming in the water,\u201d he said. \u201cGuests always loved him \u2014 and even more so over the last handful of years, as our social media grew and YouTube presence, we got to feature him in videos a lot more.\u201d<\/p>\n His size gave him the designation of \u201cbiggest\u201d Gatorland gator a few years ago, the attraction said, surpassing longtime champion Chester, who died in late 2022.<\/p>\n \u201cOver the years, Buddy touched the hearts of every one at the park and was loved by millions on our social media,\u201d Gatorland\u2019s Facebook post said<\/a>. \u201cBuddy helped shape Gatorland into what it is today. He made people fall in love with alligators.\u201d<\/p>\n Life expectancy for alligators at Gatorland is longer than in the wild, Fisher said.<\/p>\n \u201cIn human care, gators can live anywhere between 50 and 80 years of age, and we see that quite often. \u2026 In the wild, average is 45 to 50,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n There\u2019s less fighting and more food in a facility.<\/p>\n \u201cIn human care, gators get a little bit more rounder. They don\u2019t stay necessarily as skinny,\u201d Fisher said.<\/p>\n