9-foot gator spent years living behind Florida Coca-Cola plant. Now he has a new home
A 9-foot alligator nicknamed Coca-Cola lived in a trash-filled retention pond in Florida for years — but now he has a new home.
Croc Encounters, a reptile park and gator farm in Tampa, announced it was taking in the 450-pound gator on March 22 following growing concern from residents.
He earned the name Coca-Cola because he was living in a pond near a Coca-Plant in Temple Terrace. Locals said he had been living there for a long time.
“I first met Coca-Cola 2 years ago, but the security guard at the building said he’d been there for years before that,” Catherine Burton shared on Facebook.
Croc Encounters was called in when a large hole appeared in the fence surrounding the area where Coca-Cola was known to hang out. Residents worried children could slip in and fall prey to the large gator, but they didn’t want any harm to come to the community staple, either, WTVT reported.
“He’s really part of the Temple Terrace community,” resident Sarah Lanyos told the outlet.
Many were relieved to learn Croc Encounters was taking the gator in. Florida policy typically dictates that nuisance gators are euthanized.
One woman who reported seeing him for years thanked the reptile center.
“Me (and) my babies were just there last weekend to say hi,” she wrote on Facebook. “They’ll be thrilled to know he’s not going to be put down or anything.”
Rescuers said they received reports that people were feeding the gator chicken and ham, which is both illegal and harmful.
“This alligator is extremely overweight and now accustomed to getting fed by people,” rescuers said. “Once people start feeding alligators they become a nuisance by no fault of their own and must be removed from the wild as they begin to approach people for food.”
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission advises the public to stay a safe distance away from gators, swim in designated areas during daytime hours and keep pets on leashes.
And, you should never feed gators, which will in turn learn to associate humans with food.
The state advises those who are concerned about a gator to call the Statewide Nuisance Alligator Program, which removes gators over 4 feet long from developed areas if they pose a threat to humans.
While gator attacks are uncommon, they do happen.
“Luckily this guy will have a new home at our facility,” the gator rescuers said.
Temple Terrace is a city just northeast of Tampa.
This story was originally published March 25, 2024 at 10:34 AM with the headline "9-foot gator spent years living behind Florida Coca-Cola plant. Now he has a new home."