DAILY BREEZE (Torrance, California) 05 June 06 Could this be the end ... of Reggie the alligator? It's been seven months since the last sighting of the elusive alligator in Harbor City's Machado Lake. Has the reptile cashed in his chips? (Donna Littlejohn)
Say it ain't so.
In hushed tones, people are beginning to whisper the unthinkable: Could Reggie's blood be running a little colder than usual? Could he be pushing up the water lilies?
Sleeping with the fishes?
It's been more than seven months since Harbor City's stray alligator has been seen, according to Los Angeles city officials. He was expected to reappear this spring, in March or April, when the longer days and warmer weather were supposed to stir him out of his winter semi-hibernation.
But it's June already. The weather's been unseasonably warm lately. And still, no gator.
Thus, speculation among Reggie-watchers that he may well have shuffled off his mortal coil.
"I have my doubts he's still there," said Chamber of Commerce Director Joann Valle of Harbor City.
"That lake is pretty polluted," said San Pedro longshoreman John Winkler Jr. "That could have killed him. I'm hoping he didn't die, but we should have seen him by now."
An open trap baited with chicken remains undisturbed since it was left near the shore of Machado Lake in April. Park workers say they're spot-checking daily for the 6-foot reptile. There have been some rumors, but no confirmed sightings.
"Everything at the lake is quiet," said Fred Dowell, the city gardener and caretaker who has worked on the Reggie case since the beginning at Ken Malloy Harbor Regional Park in Harbor City. "We're just going out there and sitting and looking."
Mike Feyder, president of the Harbor City Neighborhood Council, said speculation about Reggie's survival is a growing topic of conversation.
"We're kind of wondering where the heck he is, to tell you the truth," Feyder said. "The water quality in that lake isn't all that good. Either he's not around anymore or he's having a good, long sleep."
Some have wondered if he has simply "moved on," possibly escaping through a storm drain.
A Reggie blog site has lapsed back into hibernation after an anticipatory spring relaunch earlier this year. The last post is dated April 21.
"People keep e-mailing me asking, 'Do you think he's dead?' " said Steve Gardner of Torrance, who created the "Save Reggie" blog site last year. "I don't know."
Not so fast, says Russ Smith, the reptile curator at the Los Angeles Zoo. He blames Reggie's delayed debut on the gloomy weather in May.
With an unusually cool and overcast spring, Smith thinks Reggie is just waking up at a more leisurely pace than expected. Even the alligators at the zoo, the curator said, are still sluggish and not eating yet.
And while the water at Machado Lake is polluted, Smith said alligators are champion survivors. He believes Reggie should have easily made it through the Southern California winter, assuming he was healthy when he was released last spring or summer by a former owner.
The alligator is probably out sunbathing by now for at least part of the day, Smith said.
"I assume he might be active, just lying back soaking up some rays in those water plants," Smith said.
Part of the problem could be the heavy vegetation surrounding most of the 53-acre lake's perimeter, providing all kinds of secluded hiding spots for an alligator on the run.
If temperatures remain in the 80s for long, Reggie -- if he's still there -- should be quite visible eventually. He was seen swimming across the lake last summer.
"Alligators are temperature dependent," said Willie Puz, spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. "They need sunlight or heat to control their functions. So as the weather heats up, their body functions become more active and they're more active."
Those who have followed the Reggie tale agree it would be a disappointment if the alligator mysteriously just vanishes and is never seen again.
"People want some kind of closure," Reggie blogger Gardner said.
Gardner said he's noticed that other reptiles, like lizards, are active these days.
"I would think he'd be around or would have eaten some of the bait," Gardner said. "How long can they hibernate? I studied biology (in college) but skipped the herpetology (reptiles) class."
Even Los Angeles City Councilwoman Janice Hahn is having her moments of doubt about Reggie's fate.
"Every once in a while I wonder if he's still there," Hahn said. "No one's seen him since October. I don't think anyone knows, but it would be a sad ending to the saga if he died."
Residents would be "absolutely" upset if Reggie is found dead, said Feyder, who's also a member of the regional park's advisory board.
"I hope nothing's happened to him," he said. "But the longer we get into June, the worse it looks for our friend. The neighborhood council was looking forward to a coming-out party."
"On the other hand," he said, "the weather has been so weird. We get two warm days and then it's back in the 60s. I think what he needs is a string of warm days to get the water temperature up."
As for the city gardener, Dowell isn't buying any of the doom-and-gloom scenarios.
"I've heard people say a lot of things," he said. "They say maybe somebody came out late at night and captured him and now he's alligator stew. But I don't believe any of that.
"I feel strongly that he's there."
Could this be the end ... of Reggie the alligator?