Once in the spotlight, it appears now that Fred the Alligator is hardly seen, and that seems fine by him.
In August 2015, Fred the Alligator, once the centerpiece of Reptile World was relocated to his new home at Alligator Adventure in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
“Fred’s not around much actually,” laughs Thad Bowman public relations for Alligator Adventure. “He has 7-10 acres he has free range of, he spends the summers out there and then comes up for feeding, but other than that, he is pretty much a wild alligator out there.”
Fred was removed from the former Reptile World with 142 other animals in the winter of 2015. Little Ray’s Reptile Zoo of Ottawa took control of a number of the animals rescued and transported to Eastern Canada in good health. Fred, then tipping the scales at about 600 pounds, was then taken with other rescues to the refuge in South Carolina.
“He was definitely healthy, Fred is a big boy,” he said. “There are about 500 alligators in that area. He had plenty of room to hide, if he didn’t want to be with other alligators there are nooks and crannies they can get in to get away from others.”
Bowman said they opted to place Fred in his natural habitat where the animals could take refuge rather than in the main pool.
Within this enclosure there are males upwards of 13 feet long. Fred, when he arrived was estimated to be about 11 feet.
“During this time of year they spend a lot of time out there in the sun. They are cold blooded so they absorb as much heat as they can,” he said, adding they are not seen much from October to about April as they aren’t fed during the winter.
He says the only time they are typically seen is during feeding time in the summer and around breeding.
“The males will fight during breeding, and the girls will battle over nesting areas,” he said.
The move of the animals to the sanctuary was a very rare occurrence.
“You have to give credit to Little Ray’s (Reptile Zoo),” he said “Those were the first alligators that have been brought to the United States since late 1960’s… they had to do a lot of talking to Fish and Wildlife to do this. Alligator Adventure takes possession of about 100 rescues per year.
