DECATUR, Ill. — An alligator’s day out featured a splash in a lazy river and some sunbathing at an Illinois water park.
The Scovill Zoo shared a video on Facebook of its alligator, “G,” who got to enjoy a day-long field trip to Splash Cove. In the post, the zoo explained that the 39-year-old reptile, which is 12 feet long and 300 pounds, had never ventured too far out of his enclosure and had never been submerged in more than a few feet of water.
G’s keepers wanted to enrich the alligator’s life, and arranged for him to visit Splash Cove after the water park had closed for the season. The park closed to swimmers several weeks ago, and since then the chlorine in the pool water naturally burned off, making it safe for G, the Herald & Review reported.
The keepers who accompanied G reported that the animal enjoyed “freshening up on his swimming skills, floating in the river current, and let us know that he enjoyed his trip to the lazy river by refusing to leave.”
A spokesperson for the Decatur Park District told the Herald & Review that the zoo hopes the field trip could become an annual event for the alligator.
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