Čabulītis was a captive American Alligator

American Alligator

The American alligator , sometimes referred to colloquially as a gator, is a reptile endemic only to the Southeastern United States. It is one of the two living species of alligator, in the genus Alligator, within the family Alligatoridae...

 residing at the Riga Zoo

Riga Zoo

-External links:* - Trip to Riga ZOO...

 in Riga

Riga

Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...

, Latvia

Latvia

Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...

. At time of his death he was thought to be one of the oldest captive alligators in Europe. Information at the Riga Zoo, dated 1 April 1935, suggests that he was 1 to 3 years old on arrival.

Physical characteristics and diet

He was 2.9 metres (9.5 ft) long and weighed 140 kilograms (308.6 lb). In 1958, 1970, and 1980 due to problems with heating of the crocodile house, Čabullītis would not consume food for periods of 5 to 7 months. Otherwise he normally ate about 1.5 kilograms (3.3 lb) of beef twice a week in addition to chicken once a week. He also liked herring, but refused to eat furry or live animals.

Biography

In Latvian

Latvian language

Latvian is the official state language of Latvia. It is also sometimes referred to as Lettish. There are about 1.4 million native Latvian speakers in Latvia and about 150,000 abroad. The Latvian language has a relatively large number of non-native speakers, atypical for a small language...

, Čabulītis roughly translates to sweet and tender creature. At various times, the alligator was also known by the names Ulmanītis

Ulmanis

Ulmanis is a surname that may refer to these Latvian politicians:* Kārlis Ulmanis , First Prime Minister of Latvia* Guntis Ulmanis , President of Latvia 1993–1999; grandnephew of Kārlis Ulmanis- See also :...

, Ali and Gena. Three other alligators about the same age lived at the zoo in the 1930s — two females and a male. Little is known about Čabulītis' youth — only that the alligators used to fight and Čabulītis bit one of the females in the tail. Apparently the alligators mated as well, but the eggs were not fertile. The other male was moved to the Kiev Zoo

Kiev Zoo

The Kiev Zoo is one of the biggest zoos in the former Soviet Union and the only zoo in Kiev, Ukraine. Situated on about 40 hectares, the zoo is cared for by 378 staff members and receives about 280,000 visitors annually.-History:...

 in 1965. Both females were put to sleep

Animal euthanasia

Animal euthanasia is the act of putting to death painlessly or allowing to die, as by withholding extreme medical measures, an animal suffering from an incurable, especially a painful, disease or condition. Euthanasia methods are designed to cause minimal pain and distress...

 in the 1970s due to illnesses caused by injuries sustained in fights. Since that time Čabulītis was the only alligator in the zoo.

In the 1980s an American crocodile

American Crocodile

The American crocodile is a species of crocodilian found in the Neotropics. It is the most widespread of the four extant species of crocodiles from the Americas. Populations occur from the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of southern Mexico to South America as far as Peru and Venezuela. It also lives...

, Balodītis (i.e., little dove), was housed in a room next to Čabulītis. (The ranges of the two species do overlap in the wild.) Balodītis once managed to get into Čabulītis room by climbing over the wall at night. As they didn't fight, Balodītis was allowed to share space until Čabulītis grew more aggressive and the reptiles were separated again.

Čabulītis enjoyed being sprayed with warm water, having his back brushed, and he would roar when he heard the music of German pop duo Modern Talking

Modern Talking

Modern Talking was a German dance pop duo consisting of Thomas Anders and Dieter Bohlen. Their music has often been classified as Europop. They have been referred to as Germany's most successful pop duo, and have had a number of hit singles, reaching the top 5 in many countries...

. In the last ten years of his life, Čabulītis lost an increasing number of teeth and his movements became slower, causing visitors to wonder if the alligator was even alive. He spent a lot of time in the water as it became difficult for him to walk on dry land. Čabulītis died of lung disease and heart failure. A memorial was planned for Čabulītis, and his remains will be stuffed

Taxidermy

Taxidermy is the act of mounting or reproducing dead animals for display or for other sources of study. Taxidermy can be done on all vertebrate species of animals, including mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, and amphibians...

and exhibited in the zoo along with his skeleton.