A huge alligator that caused concerns for Air Force officials at a west-central Florida base has been returned to his natural habitat, authorities said.
The 12-foot, 3-inch reptile, which blocked a plane on the runway at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa last month, was taken to an alligator farm in Palmdale, WFLA-TV reported.
Base officials posted a video on Facebook, showing the alligator’s release at Gatorama, an alligator farm located north of the Everglades in Glades County.
Video showed the alligator emerging from a trailer and slipping into the water before slipping away.
“Our 12 ft 3 in scaly friend was safely released at Gatorama and has already made some friends in his new home,” MacDill Air Force Base wrote on its Facebook page. “They renamed him “MacDill” to pay homage to his origins.”
The Air Force posted photographs of the alligator on April 22 lying by a plane’s wheels on the tarmac of the airfield at the base, WTSP-TV reported. He was escorted away by officials with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission in the Hillsborough River, but he was discovered again near MacDill’s Med Group on May 15, according to the television station.
At the time, he was nicknamed “Airman Ally Gator,” WTSP reported.
“Airman Gator will be in charge of MacDill’s complaint department and is ready to book your appointment below,” officials joked in the post, according to the television station. “Please list a date and time below that you would like to register your complaint.”
For now, “MacDill” has retired from that department and is enjoying his new environment at Gatorama.
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