‘Hitler’s alligator’ put on display in Moscow following death at age 84

An alligator that some believe belonged to Adolf Hitler has been taxidermied and put on display in Moscow following the reptile’s death at age 84.

The Darwin Museum says the alligator named Saturn was put on public display several months after the Moscow Zoo donated his remains. “The installation of Saturn in the permanent exhibition is the culmination of six months of work by our taxidermists and the entire museum,” it says in a statement.

In this photo taken on Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2019, the alligator Saturn swims in water at the Moscow Zoo, in Moscow, Russia (AP Photo/Mikhail Bibichkov)

Born in the United States in 1936, Saturn was moved to the Berlin zoo where he escaped on November 23, 1943, after a bombing raid that killed several of his fellow reptiles. In 1946, he was found by British soldiers who handed him over to the Soviet authorities.

When Saturn was brought to Moscow in July 1946, the rumors began circulating that he had been part of Adolf Hitler’s personal collection, the zoo said.

— with AFP