Latest news with #RonSanderson
Yahoo
16-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Gator with bungee-corded jaw rescued, relocated to Gatorland
Gatorland's latest rescue animal is a 9-foot alligator found near Gainesville with a bungee cord wrapped around his upper jaw. The reptile was captured by a trapper and delivered to the Orlando attraction, which will be his new home. His new name: Bungee. 'Someone tried to catch this alligator with a bungee cord, which became deeply imbedded in his top jaw. This was an extremely dangerous situation for Bungee and could have eventually killed him, Mark McHugh, president and CEO of Gatorland, said in a news release. Orlando's Titanic attraction adds recovered necklace to artifact lineup 'People were illegally feeding him and he came right up out of the water to take food from the trapper,' McHugh said. The animal had been seen for months at Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park. The cord was removed, and the animal received medical care before joining the other gators at Gatorland. Bungee weighs 200 pounds and is estimated to be 25 years old. SeaWorld Orlando: New emperor penguins set for Florida debut He is one of more than 100 rescue alligators at the attraction. Conservation falls under the perview of Gatorland Global, a nonprofit organization with a local and international reach. 'We are incredibly grateful to [trapper] Ron Sanderson for his months of hard work to catch Bungee and bring him to us,' McHugh said. 'That's what Gatorland Global is all about. It's passionately engaging in alligator and crocodile conservation and teaching others how important these animals are to our animal kingdom.' Gatorland Global conservation arm achieves not-for-profit status Email me at dbevil@ BlueSky: @themeparksdb. Threads account: @dbevil. X account: @themeparks. Subscribe to the Theme Park Rangers newsletter at
Miami Herald
13-06-2025
- General
- Miami Herald
Alligator escaped poachers, but lived with cord slicing its jaw, FL video shows
An alligator that narrowly escaped poachers in Florida was left in an agonizing predicament when a cord cinched to its head began slicing off its nose, a YouTube video shows. The alligator was discovered at Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park near Gainesville, leading to a risky rescue operation. 'He had a rope that was tied around his top jaw,' trapper Ron Sanderson reported in the video shared June 7 by Gatorland. 'It was actually so tight that it had grown in and it's messed up his bone on his top jaw. So we were able to capture it and remove this (rope) and it's just amazing that somebody would do this on purpose to this alligator.' Closer inspection revealed it was a bungee cord and serious damage had been done to the alligator, Gatorland officials reported. The cord was likely tied to the alligator during a 'very illegal' attempt to catch it, the park reported. There was also evidence someone had been hand feeding the alligator, officials said. Sanderson reports it took about an hour to trap the alligator, and a Gatorland veterinarian determined the wound would likely heal on its own, the video reports. The alligator, now named Bungee, will live out the remainder of its life at Gatorland, the video reports. The 110-acre theme park in Orlando is known as 'The Alligator Capital of the World.'
