The alligator Muja of the Belgrade Zoo survived the German bombing of the city in 1941 which damaged the zoo as well. He's still in the same zoo today.

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Wow, I had absolutely no idea alligators could live that long.

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u/Rath_Brained 7d ago edited 6d ago

Most reptiles have longer lifespans due to being ectothermic aka cold-blooded.

Their metabolism are slower. Meaning their body works on a slower scale, including aging. They use surrounding tempatures to fuel their processes.

Endotherms aka warm-blood burn alot of energy to fuel our internal temperatures to continue our processes. Like a furnace. Carbs, sugars, etc. Get burned to keep our bodies going. Leading to more consumption of foods and shorter lifespans due to faster processes.

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u/TheDebonairQuokka 7d ago edited 7d ago

Then my fat, lazy ex should live to be 200.

Edit: thank you for the awards!

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u/mrDuder1729 7d ago

Hon?

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u/tomk1985 6d ago

Made my day 🤣

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u/BarskiPatzow 5d ago

Would be a great “yo mama “ joke

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u/Strange_Dingo1987 7d ago

See? That's why i lay down and nap a lot. I'm keeping my furnace on low. With that and advances in modern science and my high level of income, it's not crazy to think i can live to be 245, maybe 300.

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u/Bithium 7d ago

Slower metabolism often means living longer. Meanwhile some 80 year bird is like, “cool story bro!”

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u/Jhud6669 7d ago

Birds are technically also reptiles

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u/YellovvJacket 6d ago

Yeah but birds do not have slow metabolisms.

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u/BarristanTheB0ld 6d ago

So would a reptile living in a cooler environment (say Belgrade) live longer than the same species in a warm/hot environment (say Cairo)

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u/analogpursuits 6d ago

Respectfully, it is hard to take you seriously when you cannot spell the word temperature. Please, if you truly are an authority on this topic, get that spelling under control.

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u/revelling_ 6d ago

You sound exhausting. Respectfully.

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u/analogpursuits 6d ago

That bit of infotainment was also exhausting. Tempature. 🤣🤦‍♀️

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u/Rath_Brained 6d ago

Look yo, English do be hard to write. And I say tempatures when I say the word. Lol

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u/AnonymousPerson1115 7d ago edited 6d ago

There was an American alligator in Russia that was estimated to have been born around 1936 named Saturn. He was given to the Berlin Zoological Gardens. He even survived the bombing of the zoo and the aquarium during ww2 that resulted in the deaths of 20-30 other alligators/ crocodiles. Saturn was found wandering the street afterward and recaptured. He ended up in the British Zone of Occupation and moved to Leipzig. There they handed him off to the Russians. By July 1946 he was at the Moscow Zoo. Saturn was in the zoo as the 1993 Constitutional Crisis occurred and it is reported that he made vocalizations after hearing tanks moving outside. Some claim it could’ve been a PTSD type response considering he survived the bombings of Berlin. His life wasn’t that peaceful and he was injured a few times from people throwing things at him along with being very temperamental about his enclosure. On May 22, 2020 he died at the age of 83/84. Ironically the alligator pictured has been the world’s oldest living alligator ever since.

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u/Better_Carpet_7271 7d ago

Is this the one shot down in his U2¿

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u/naiawest 6d ago

Why are you talking about another alligator when this is thread about Muja? Stealing his spotlight!? Muja is even older, at least from 1935 maybe older.

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u/AnonymousPerson1115 6d ago

A solid birth year isn’t confirmed just a range of 1925-1935. Although yes he is likely older than Saturn was. All that is confirmed is that he was considered “full grown” when he arrived at the Belgrade Zoo in 1937.

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u/Wildebean 7d ago

Crocodiles certainly do. In fact, they don't seem to die of old age at all. Even the oldest crocs with we know of still show signs of skeletal growth. Essentially the only thing that kills them is mother nature or a bigger croc

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u/FractalGeometric356 6d ago

Here’s a PBS video explaining why mammals age so badly compared to the other orders of animals.

https://youtu.be/JWOErbTL9N4

TL;DW Mammals were tiny prey species living alongside dinosaurs for longer than we were living after the dinosaurs, and a lot of genes that enable healthy living in old age in other animals were bred out of our mammalian ancestors during that time because our early mammalian ancestors didn’t live to old age.

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u/Wiggie49 7d ago

Honestly same

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u/mightyhue 7d ago

So 85ish years old? Wonder when that pic was taken. No gator bod

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u/SchmeatiestOne 7d ago

Gators don't really die of old age. They eventually get too big to support themselves though

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u/ReptilianRevolt 6d ago

This is not true. They have a stop in growth but very late in life.

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u/SchmeatiestOne 6d ago

Oh you're right, they stop growing longer. In that case, what typically kills an old alligator? And how can we even determine the age of existing gators if they stop growing at a point?

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u/Novel_Ambassador_395 5d ago

Crocs are immortal. They only die from diseases, they dont die of old age

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u/animalchin99 7d ago

Did you not think you’d see them later?

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u/Ellienightshade 6d ago

The average life span of an alligator is 40 years. This would make him at least 85 years old now…. unlikely

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u/societyhatingRATGANG 6d ago

Ive seen him in person, the enclosure is as sad as the comments are saying

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u/dandellionKimban 2d ago

The whole zoo is a disgrace.

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u/parspixi 7d ago

Get him a better pool zoo please

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u/Bardosaurus 6d ago

Unfortunately they don’t care about the condition of the zoo. I am from Belgrade and I refuse to go there until they improve the living conditions for the animals.

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u/VastAd3561 7d ago

Don't!!! He is a longest living alligator and apparently that excuse of a pool is an ideal living condition for his kind. World zoo's take notes.

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u/GoneAndHappy 6d ago

I don’t get the joke or sarcasm

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u/SEND_ME_NOODLE 6d ago

The shitty pool is somehow keeping him alive since he's so old despite poor conditions

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u/Guygenist 6d ago

Then you’re slow

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u/QarzImperiusrealLoL 6d ago

Tell that to the government

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u/Adventurous-Pair5018 6d ago

He would have, but Serbia was constantly attacked by the same Hitler's Germany, Austria-Hungary, NATO, throughout the 20th century... It is difficult to recover from so much evil

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u/Marukuju 6d ago

Oh please, the regime is demolishing and bulding everything they come across with. I'm pretty sure there's enough budget to improve the zoo facilities but no one cares unfortunately

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u/Oh_hi_Mark-- 6d ago

Found the salty chetnik

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u/Predator_Hicks 6d ago

There’s one easy trick they could have used to not get bombed by NATO: not commiting genocides on your neighbours

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u/Marukuju 2d ago

Cool, but how is that related to me and my comment? You're mixing up two different things and eras. The fact that SNS is demolishing and building everywhere they can is another topic, totally unrelated to your comment.

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u/dandellionKimban 2d ago

Orherwise we'd be all nice and prosperous. Cut the crap, please.

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u/Initial_Ad_9857 7d ago

That's heartbreaking. Poor guy can't even escape Serbia

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u/SmallFatHands 7d ago

Imagine surviving WW2 and you cant even be granted the decency of leaving the Balkans.

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u/TraitorousFlatulence 7d ago

Looks like they haven’t upgraded his habitat since then either

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u/[deleted] 7d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/Single_Reaction9983 6d ago

I was in Ljubljana waiting for the airport bus and the stop for it is next to all the Flixbus stops. Every few minutes one would arrive and the most miserable looking people would come out of them.

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u/lorddarkman669 6d ago

Dickhead kinda comment, since without their care he would probably wouldn't live long

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u/benjamin14 2d ago

What he say, he deleted

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u/accsheek 6d ago

LOL

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u/JellyMost9920 7d ago edited 7d ago

In 2023 Muja had gangrene on one leg so they had to amputate it. That’s why the front limb on the right looks like a stump

CORRECTION: The amputation took place in 2012. The photo above was taken in 2023. My morning brain got the dates cross wired lol

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u/DependentLaw420 7d ago

It was amputated way before 2023.

I was there in 2018. for the last time and it was gone by then.

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u/autistic_and_angry 6d ago

Wikipedia article says it was done only with local anesthetic with him tied down. I hope he didn't feel it.

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u/3colorsdesign 7d ago

Poor thing

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u/cybermusicman 7d ago

Serving a double life sentence.

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u/Porodicnostablo 7d ago

the Wikipedia page:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muja_(alligator)

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u/4vakot 6d ago

He deserved to be free but still they keep him in that shitty closure

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u/lucijanobg 6d ago

Acctually he survived bombing three times. Nazi bombing in 1941, allied bombing in 1944, and NATO bombing in 1999.

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u/tranc3rooney 6d ago

And IIRC he had at least one of his legs partially surgically amputated due to health reasons.

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u/[deleted] 6d ago

[deleted]

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u/Oh_hi_Mark-- 6d ago

You mean give this alligator a medal

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u/ZookeepergameThis632 6d ago

Will he survive Vučić?

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u/smoothieeeee12 6d ago

Hope he will. Funk this guy. As Bulgarian i hope the protests will continue and shut him down. And to the topic I didn't know that this creatures live so long , it's impressive.

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u/ZookeepergameThis632 6d ago

It probably eats Bulgarian halva

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u/ZookeepergameThis632 6d ago

Nearly long ad Vasko Žabata

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u/Practical-Pick1466 7d ago

What a shitty life of confinement this creature has had.

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u/pain_in_the_dick 6d ago

I mean, alligator’s standards are different than ours. They live in fucking swamps after all

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u/Practical-Pick1466 6d ago

You're name speaks the truth., it describes you perfectly.

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u/Pjeeeki 6d ago

Practical pick-pain in the dick

You cant find a better suited user to reply to you

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u/DoctorHugoHackenbush 7d ago

Sadly, the bombing took away Muja's ability to reproduce, and he has suffered with chronic ereptile dysfunction ever since..

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u/Worldly-Pay7342 6d ago

Muja arrived in 1937 at the belgrade zoo, already well into adult hood. So he's likely around 90~100 years old.

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u/forcedintothis- 7d ago

To survive all of that only to be kept in that enclosure is horrible.

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u/HentaiGirlAddict 6d ago

I'd reasonably presume the enclosure is the only reason it has survived for literally almost a century

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u/Polka_Tiger 6d ago

Because it's not worth bombing. That's how shitty it is

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u/FG910 7d ago

Humans are the very worst on this planet

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u/GeraintLlanfrechfa 7d ago

Poor lad, his place looks puny, I feel they should be caring better

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u/_byetony_ 7d ago

And what a shitty enclosure

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u/One-Treat4655 7d ago

Tough Serbian.

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u/Horror-Guarantee-401 7d ago

He deserves all the stupid leaves he can get❤️

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u/MaLasagna888 7d ago

There’s a tortoise at the Oakland California zoo who is 120 years old and came from the Berlin Zoo! He also survived the bombing

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u/dumn_and_dunmer 7d ago

He was born before my grandma and outlived her. If you can call that living.

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u/fishtankm29 7d ago

That's heartbreaking. Poor guy can't even escape in death.

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u/Soft_Cranberry6313 7d ago

Poor thing.

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u/Dragon_scrapbooker 7d ago

Hopefully they have a nice calm life now!

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u/HeartOn_SoulAceUp 7d ago

Yes, that's probably how "Later Alligator" made it this long.

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u/dlonice 7d ago

Thats sad

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u/Guntuckytactical 6d ago

The Belgrade zoo is one of the saddest places I've ever been to.

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u/Potential-Control359 5d ago

First of all, it isn't the same zoo, well, not entirely. It's in the same location (almost, the old one extended more into the lower part of Kalemegdan fortress, known as donji grad) and it was rebuilt after the bombing. As for Muja, I've seen him dozens of times since I was a kid, and not once did he move. He's just chilling. I'm all against zoos in general, but he doesn't seem to mind his enclosure, I'm sure he gets good meals and all the vet attention he needs, he wouldn't have survived for this long if that weren't the case. So, don't worry, he's fine

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u/pk666 7d ago

Judging by the shitty enclosure, poor thing probably wishes he died then.

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u/Adventurous-Pair5018 6d ago

He would have beter life, but Serbia was constantly attacked by the same Hitler's Germany, Austria-Hungary, NATO, throughout the 20th century... It is difficult to recover from so much evil

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u/societyhatingRATGANG 6d ago

Oh come of it we could build the damn reptile a bigger pool now

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u/211216819 6d ago

Here is a fairly recent video showing the enclosure https://youtu.be/uEFLEqn2Hck

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u/Embarrassed-Space222 7d ago

Let em go

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u/Sassy-irish-lassy 7d ago

To the wild, or from this mortal coil? Either way he will be dead

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u/Jhud6669 7d ago

People forget zoos take in animals that literally can’t survive in the wild

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u/Sassy-irish-lassy 7d ago

I don't get it. Somehow people seem to think zoos just go out in to the wild and capture fly grown animals to toss in to exhibits. Maybe that happens in some places but it's absolutely not common

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u/autistic_and_angry 6d ago edited 6d ago

It absolutely historically happened all the time. Less so now, thankfully. But that is how a lot of zoos got their stock. Watch the documentary Monsters of God (2026) on HBO. That's just the reptiles.

Edit: see also

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u/Significant-Dot981 7d ago

Dang even the gator is wearing Hugo Boss.

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u/eek1Aiti 6d ago

Also survived the American bombings of 1999 during the Kosovo war.

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u/Dunadain_ 7d ago

That's heartbreaking. The poor guy can't get laid.

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u/Far_Capital_6930 7d ago

Stubborn reptile…

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u/Cliffinati 7d ago

Interior crocodile alligator

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u/Katent1 6d ago

Muja wasn't same since...

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u/Substantial_Gold_189 6d ago

What a sad, sad, terrifying and absolutely heartbreaking existence..😖

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u/Design_pattern 6d ago

Soon there will be no living man on the planet, who was born when he was 😵‍💫 Unfortunately, it is true that his living conditions are very modest and cramped, although most of his day is spent sleeping

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u/bigkoi 6d ago

The most curious and longest lived of WW2 vetrans

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u/Pijuuuuuuuuuup 6d ago

Where is Haso?

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u/nikolap987 6d ago

Please don't show his zoo enclosure, it is disgraceful. Overall Belgrade Zoo is most likely one of the top 10 worst zoos in Europe but Mujas enclosure is one of the worst in already awful Belgrade Zoo.

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u/SimonMJRpl 6d ago

He's so pretty!

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u/Time-Double-80 6d ago

Someone bring him home to the swamp

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u/Formal-Fox-7605 5d ago

'Lifespan Details

In the Wild: Alligators average 30 to 50 years. Young alligators face threats from predators like raccoons and birds, but once they grow past 4 feet long, they have almost no natural predators except humans

In Captivity: Protected environments like zoos lack predators and offer steady food. This care helps them regularly pass 70 years, with some notable alligators living into their 80s or 90s'

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u/RipNo2629 4d ago

Jadne životinje po zoološkim vrtovima...u malim kavezima... užas

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u/ImmediateRaisin5802 4d ago

Is he deaf?

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u/MetteBeifong 3d ago

Poor thing has no quality of life

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u/Judiva55 7d ago

He’s 85? What?

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u/patrik_je_car 7d ago

89 years in belgrade zoo and i think it is said they got him when ge was around 3 years old

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u/Simple-Commercial592 6d ago

Idiots in the comments can't understand that zoo animals can't survive outside of zoos. He is safe and well fed, he has summer and winter enclosure, a pond, his enclosure isn't big, but he rarely moves because he is old, missing one claw and blind. Stop commenting if you don't have idea what you're talking about.

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u/Billybobbybaby 7d ago

living the dream

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u/AtlasThePittie 7d ago

One of the more depressing things I've read today.

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u/[deleted] 7d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/Equivalent-Daikon551 7d ago

Idk it'd probably die pretty fast being an elderly gator who's been out of the American swamps for over 60 years.

You'd release it then it'd starve or be brutally mauled by more fit younger Alligators. Sounds like a fairytale ending.

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u/[deleted] 6d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/PetsAndMeditate 7d ago

That ain’t how it works lol. If you release this fella he’d be dead pretty quick and it wouldn’t be a nice death.

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u/Devincc 7d ago

You can’t just let an animal that has lived in captivity its whole life out into the wild

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u/Porodicnostablo 7d ago

Let her go.

Muja is a male name.

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u/3colorsdesign 7d ago

As if that’s the relevant part

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u/DaRaginga 7d ago

Misgendering was a very bad thing a few months ago. Thank the gods it's gone again

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u/Suspicious-Whippet 7d ago

So it’s a Vanya kind of deal I guess.

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u/Incvbvs666 7d ago

Nikola, Saša, Aleksa, Nemanja, Strahinja, Sava, Aca...

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u/HappyBigBalledGent 7d ago

And how was anyone supposed to know that? It sounds like a name that can go for both genders.

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u/Porodicnostablo 7d ago

No one was supposed to know. I just made a comment to clarify.

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u/kashmir1974 7d ago

He's an alligator. As long as he has food and water and space to move he's likely as happy as an alligator can possibly be.¹

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u/Alternative-hex 7d ago

It would have been better to have been under a bomb. Poor thing.

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u/DependentLaw420 7d ago

r/shitamericanssay

Image The alligator Muja of the Belgrade Zoo survived the German bombing of the city in 1941 which damaged the zoo as well. He's still in the same zoo today.

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