Nature & Environment

Alligator that survived WWII dies aged 84

By T.K. Randall
May 24, 2020 ·  4 comments

Saturn reached a ripe old age. Image Credit: CC BY-SA 3.0 Rigelus Named Saturn, the 84-year-old Mississippi alligator had long been a hit with keepers and visitors alike and was a particular fan of being massaged with a brush while being hosed down inside his enclosure.

Saturn was born in the US before being gifted to Berlin Zoo in 1936 where he remained until 1943 when Allied bombing raids on the city enabled him to escape.

For the next three years his whereabouts remained a total mystery, however in 1946 he was discovered again by British soldiers who later gave him to the Soviet Union.

He would end up as a resident of Moscow Zoo for the next 74 years."Yesterday morning, our Mississippi alligator Saturn died of old age," the zoo said in a statement. "He was about 84 years old - an extremely respectable age."

"For us Saturn was an entire era, and that's without the slightest exaggeration... He saw many of us when we were children. We hope that we did not disappoint him."

One rumor that has often circulated is that Saturn was once part of Adolf Hitler's private collection, however that has since turned out to be false.

"[Animals] do not belong to politics and mustn't be held responsible for human sins," the zoo stated.

Ð'чера утром наш миссисипский аллигатор Сатурн умер от старости. Ему было около 84 лет – крайне почтенный возраст. Московскому зоопарку выпала честь содержать Сатурна 74 года. Он видел многих из нас детьми. Надеемся, что мы его не разочаровали. pic.twitter.com/UigsB8xwBv

— Московский Зоопарк (@moscowzoo) May 23, 2020

Source: BBC News | Comments (4)

Tags: Alligator