Humane Society’s resident alligator a 10-year fixture
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An alligator taken in as a temporary visitor at a Pasadena Humane Society shelter is marking her 10-year anniversary, the Times’ Francisco Vara-Orta reports:
Normally when animals land in the cages of the Pasadena Humane Society, the goal is to get them out and in a home. But Tina, a 7-foot-long, 100-pound American alligator, never moved out. This month, she celebrates her 10th year at the shelter. Left homeless in 1998 when a traveling wildlife education exhibit closed down, Tina was taken in by the private facility in what they thought would be a temporary arrangement, said shelter spokeswoman Ricky Whitman. Instead, she settled in as a permanent resident after larger zoos said they had no room and petting zoos interested in taking her in were deemed unsuitable. ‘I think visitors are surprised when they see her,’ said Hillary Gatlin, the Pasadena Humane Society’s community resources assistant, of the gator’s spot near a row of chihuahuas and across from the cages full of terriers. ‘She’s fairly mellow -- despite the loud red-and-black ‘will bite’ sticker on her ID tag,’ Gatlin said as Tina sunbathed in her cage marked by a small metal sign reading ‘Gator Crossing.’ ...
...The shelter was able to keep Tina long-term because it is licensed to care for wildlife.
She now lives in a 150-square-foot enclosure after a modest addition of 15 square feet of crawl space last May. The upgrade included a stone waterfall that circulates water into her once-stagnant pond, created for free by Ray Stewart, owner of Waterworks Ponds in Glendale. He also donated more than $1,000 for her care, officials said.
Before the expansion, Tina’s tail would hang out of her small concrete pool and she was unable to turn around, Gatlin said.
Now, she’s a staple of every tour people make of the facility and a big crowd pleaser for schoolchildren who visit in groups, Gatlin said.
‘She’s part of the family,’ she said.
Tina does not require much maintenance aside from some slightly higher veterinary bills. Because of safety concerns, only a few trained staffers are allowed to handle her, Gatlin said.
And her diet has nothing to do with her defenseless pet neighbors: Tina eats a few store-bought uncooked chickens a week.
Because Tina depends on humans for food and is not used to interacting with other alligators, shelter officials say she can’t be released into the wild and is forever captive.
‘She’s domesticated, even though she’s from the wild,’ Gatlin said.
Story and photos by Francisco Vara-Orta