TAMPA, Fla. — A massive alligator has a new home at a Tampa reptile farm after causing concern for some Temple Terrace residents.
The nine-foot, 450-pound gator was living in a retention pond near the old Coca-Cola factory on Fowler Ave. Neighbors began to worry he might escape through a hole in the surrounding fence.
The gator, appropriately named Coca-Cola, has now been relocated to Croc Encounters Reptile and Alligator Farm in Tampa.
Experts at Croc Encounters — which is home to dozens of other American alligators like Coca-Cola — believe the gator was being fed by employees at nearby businesses and lost his fear of humans as a result.
They say it is illegal and extremely dangerous to feed alligators, as they will get used to being fed and start to approach people for food. It's also unhealthy; Croc Encounters says Coca-Cola is now extremely overweight.
He is now living in an enclosure with several other gators.
You can visit Coca-Cola and other gators, crocodiles and reptiles at Croc Encounters. For more information, visit their website.