Alligator relocated from former Coca-Cola plant put on weight-loss diet

UPI ^ | MARCH 26, 2024 / 1:50 PM | Ben Hooper

[Red Badger]

March 26 (UPI) -- An alligator found living behind a former Coca-Cola plant in Florida has been put on a diet to lose some of its over 400 pounds.

The 9-foot gator was relocated from the grounds of the former Coca-Cola plant in Temple Terrace after neighbors raised concerns about a damaged fence around the retention pond.

The alligator was taken to Croc Encounters, where veterinarians decided to put the over-400-pound reptile on a weight loss diet.

"That's a little heavy for that animal," Croc Encounters Director John Panner told WFLA-TV.

Neighbors living near the plant said some locals had been feeding the gator, which they nicknamed Coca-Cola. The goliath gator was reported served lunch meat and hams by nearby residents.

Panner said the alligator's new diet will be more well-suited to his species.

"All of our alligators get a mix of pellet diet," he said. "We'll also feed fish, we also feed chicken, we'll do that on a regular basis, and hopefully he'll slim down a bit."

[Red Badger]

Yep, Florida!

Where even our alligators are obese!..................

[Red Badger]

Fat Gator ping!..................

[FamiliarFace]

That is quite some neck!

[Red Badger]

Looks like he’s smiling!....................

[PAR35]

Can’t fool me. It was the HFCS that they put in the beverages that caused it to be fat.

[Colt1851Navy]

A 9mm bullet would have been cheaper.

[rigelkentaurus]

diet also consists of small dogs and cats, rodents, children

[GotMojo]

those residents that fed him hams, deserved to be eaten.......

[Red Badger]

https://www.princeton.edu/news/2010/03/22/sweet-problem-princeton-researchers-find-high-fructose-corn-syrup-prompts

[Red Badger]

Burmese Pythons.....................

[FamiliarFace]

Even though “Gator” isn’t in my handle, you should remember to ping me for any Gator threads. I was born a Gator, and I’ll be a Gator until I die. ;)

[Red Badger]

Illegal to kill alligators in Florida without a license...............

[Smittie]

A 9mm wouldn’t phase a gator too much….

[FamiliarFace]

He was so happy before they put him on a diet to lose weight.

[TexasGator]

“A 9mm wouldn’t phase a gator too much….”

Gator hunters often use .22’s to finish them off.

[FamiliarFace]

It shouldn’t be. There’s too many running around. I say let’s make belts, shoes, and purses with their skin again, like when I was a kid. Alligators are no longer endangered.

[Red Badger]

Will try and remember!..............

[dforest]

What if you accidentally run over a gator?

[Red Badger]

Black bears aren’t either but we can’t kill them. Now we are up to our keisters in black bears..............

[Red Badger]

That happens. People usually just keep on truckin’................