Okefenokee Joe, ‘an amazing old’ alligator, has died
‘Ambassador’ reptile dominated the social community of huge Georgia swamp
At almost 80 years of age, Okefenokee Joe, an 11-foot-long alligator, had dominated over the largest swamp in North America. Since last year, a team of researchers had kept tabs on his activity, competitions with male counterparts and soirees with female alligators — until his satellite tag stopped moving.
The reptile, a beloved fixture at Okefenokee Swamp Park in Georgia, was dead.
The news of his death was announced on Facebook by the University of Georgia Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant’s Coastal Ecology
Lab — a platform the program utilizes to both shed light on its research findings and provide a glimpse into the animals’ colorful personalities.
Monday’s #GatorGossip post inspired heartfelt comments by visitors who recalled sighting Okefenokee Joe and sent their condolences over the loss of “an amazing old gator.”
Though researchers are unable to pinpoint his exact date of birth, signs of aging like cataracts and loss of sight placed him a little under 80 years old — alligators’ typical life expectancy.
Despite his age, the alligator was able to dominate over the swamp’s social community, taking over a territory spanning over three miles across the waterway.
Even if his eyesight was faltering, over the alligators’ mating season — which stretches from spring to early summer — Okefenokee Joe visited multiple females. Once the babies hatch during the next months, researchers hope to do a genetic study to uncover their lineage.
During the year that he was tagged, scientists began observing changes in Okefenokee Joe. He began moving less and then passed on the dominance torch over to Obadiah, a younger male alligator who won in a physical altercation between the two. .
Signs of his death emerged on July 20 when his satellite tag showed no movement. A month later, when researchers ventured to the secluded and remote area of the pond, they found his decomposing remains with the tag still attached.