An alligator without its top jaw has found a forever home at Gatorland theme park in Orlando.
The gator’s tongue is fully visible after its snout appeared completely to have been sawn off below its eyes.
An alligator without its top jaw has found a forever home at Gatorland theme park in Orlando
The gator’s tongue is fully visible due to the snout being torn off below its eyes
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‘We’re just a down home, southern country gem and of course, if you come visit with us, you get our warm, southern hospitality every time you come,’ said the CEO of Gatorland, Mark McHugh, on Facebook.
The exact cause of the alligator’s injury remains unclear, but wildlife experts suspect it occurred after the animal was ensnared in a hunting trap
Gatorland’s global conservation ambassador, Savannah Boan, is helping to care for the gator
The gator will remain in captivity but now be able to feed far more easily with a steady stream of food now at its disposal thanks to care of staff at the theme park and zoo
It is likely the alligator has been without a snout for some time since the injury appears to have scarred over and completely healed
The young gator is now finding her feet once again in her new ‘forever home’ at Gatorland
The cut across the gator’s jaw is a clean one which suggests the act was committed by a snare
The gator will remain in captivity but be able to feed which would likely have been impossible in the wild
‘From the image I was provided, the alligator appears to have good body weight, and the injury healed over, but the continued survivability in the wild is slim,’ Kim Titterington, a wildlife rehabilitator said to People.