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Elusive gator briefly slips away

os Angeles Zoo officials carry Reggie to the reptile exhibit Aug. 9. The alligator, which eluded officials at an urban lake for almost two years, temporarily escaped Wednesday morning. Associated Press photos (Associated Press photos / The Spokesman-Review)
Associated Press The Spokesman-Review
os Angeles Zoo officials carry Reggie to the reptile exhibit Aug. 9. The alligator, which eluded officials at an urban lake for almost two years, temporarily escaped Wednesday morning. Associated Press photos (Associated Press photos / The Spokesman-Review)

LOS ANGELES – You can’t keep a good gator down.

An alligator that became a celebrity after eluding trappers for nearly two years at an urban lake managed to escape from his new home at the Los Angeles Zoo on Wednesday. It was nearly opening time before Reggie was caught.

Keepers discovered the 7 1/2-foot gator was missing from his personal exhibit pond at around 7:30 a.m., and a search of every rock and bush proved he wasn’t anywhere in the display.

Reggie was finally found near a loading dock several hundred yards away shortly before the zoo’s 10 a.m. opening time, spokesman Jason Jacobs said.

It’s believed he had climbed a mesh-covered side wall of the exhibit.

“It proves to us that he’s a very smart, healthy gator,” Jacobs said.

Reggie was placed in quarantine while a mesh overhang was added to his exhibit to prevent another escape.

Reggie was spotted in Harbor City’s Machado Lake in August 2005.

Authorities say a man who illegally raised Reggie as a pet dumped the gator in the lake when it got too big.

After several attempts, Reggie was captured in May. He was introduced to the public Aug. 9, and fans have been eager to see him.

“We all know that Reggie is a very smart and elusive gator,” said City Councilwoman Janice Hahn, who represents the Harbor City area. “It took us almost two years to catch him, and I would expect nothing less than at least one escape attempt from him.”