‘Hitler’s alligator’ who survived Berlin WWII bombing dies at 84

An alligator who survived a bombing raid on the Berlin zoo in 1943 and found himself east of the iron curtain after World War II has died of old age at 84, the Moscow Zoo says.

Saturn’s demise marked the “end of an era,” the zoo says in a statement, and 84 was “a respectable age” for a Mississippi alligator, a species that rarely makes it past 50 in the wild.

Born in the United States in 1936, he 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.

American alligator "Saturn" dies at Moscow Zoo, aged 84.

Born in the state of Mississippi, moved to Germany at the Berlin Zoological Garden. Saturn was one of Hitler's favorite animals at the zoo. The reptile was found by British soldiers and handed to the Soviets in 1946. #WW2 pic.twitter.com/rD84kn909a

— WWII Pictures (@WWIIpix) May 23, 2020

His whereabouts during the intervening three years are “a mystery,” the zoo says.

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

“He came to us after the victory” over Nazi Germany, it adds, “and celebrated the 75th anniversary of that victory with us.”

— AFP