DAILY BREEZE (Torrance, California) 31 October 05 Relax, Reggie ... we'll meet again some sunny day - Harbor City's elusive alligator likely will hibernate as temperatures fall, returning in March. Attempts to catch him may slow down, too, but won't end. (Donna Littlejohn)
Cold weather is coming. The gator wranglers have all gone home. Only the occasional spectator stops now to stare at the lake's unbroken, chilly surface.
And Reggie is going to get ve-ry sleepy.
Los Angeles Zoo officials haven't completely given up on catching the Harbor City alligator now that the temperatures have dropped on most days and winter is almost here.
In fact, Russ Smith, the zoo's reptile curator, was jubilant late last week after he spotted Reggie swimming in Machado Lake for about 20 minutes.
But before long, Reggie will be going into winter hibernation. Unless he's caught soon, it probably won't be until spring before he's active again.
"Reptiles are basically what we call cold-blooded," Smith said.
"So, unless it's warm out, there's no way he or she is going to get warm. From October to March, alligators hibernate."
Smith was surprised Thursday night when he saw Reggie out swimming on the far side of the lake.
Waiting for a park supervisor to return with some mosquito spray, Smith shined his spotlight around the far side of the lake, not really expecting to see anything.
"I saw those nice, red eyes looking at me," Smith said.
"I would have bet any amount of money that he wouldn't be out" that night, which was cold but windless, Smith said. "We'll go out (this week) again to take another look."
With unseasonal 80-degree temperatures forecast for early this week, Smith said there still could be a chance to nab the gator before he goes into his hibernation and disappears.
"We're still trying to let things quiet down and find out what he's doing," Smith said.
But zoo officials also may try using a quiet, electric boat early this week to see if they can move in a bit closer without driving the alligator back into hiding again.
"If we do have the chance, we'll go ahead and see if we can net him or snare him," Smith said. "We would hope that the warm weather will bring him out and we'll have a chance."
Once the alligator goes into hibernation, Smith said, "We don't really expect to see much of Reggie until spring."
For now, zoo keepers will maintain a regular watch on the 53-acre lake in Ken Malloy Harbor Regional Park and will set out three aluminum cages with raw chicken bait in hopes of catching him.
Some snares, nets and other capture equipment are being left at the lakeshore, just in case someone gets lucky and is able to move in close enough to catch the alligator.
If there is more warm weather in the coming months, Reggie could come out again to sunbathe.
"We might end up having a real good hot spell in November or December," Smith said. "We might be able to sneak up on him."
The first of the three rectangular cages -- 8 feet long, 3 feet wide and 3 feet high -- should be ready to be put out sometime by mid or late November, Smith said.
When the prey steps into one of the humane no-kill traps, it sets off a balancing mechanism that triggers the trap door to slam shut.
It's a long shot, Smith admits, but worth a try.
"I imagine we'll get a couple of raccoons along the way," he said.
If the alligator manages to get out of the trap before it closes on him, however, he'll never come near it again, Smith said.
And it's probably unlikely he'll even go for the bait during the hibernating months ahead.
"He's not going to be hungry during the winter," Smith said.
Cold weather drives alligators underground into winter dens. The hard-to-find holes are typically dug in the mud under a bank, with the entrances under water.
The reptiles then go into an inactive state much like hibernation, with their metabolism slowing down as the animal lives off its own fat.
"They'll basically shut down," Smith said. But unless he's sick or hurt, Smith said, Reggie "should do fine" surviving the Southern California winter.
When spring arrives, alligators resurface. Hungry after the long winter, they begin feeding again and basking in the morning sun. The reptiles are most active at night during the hottest part of the summer.
There could be an added benefit to this winter break in Reggie's case: "The fact is, he's been really scared of all the noise and people for obvious reasons," Smith said.
"My general hope is that things will calm down in the winter. When he comes out in the spring, he may not even remember" he was being pursued.
Los Angeles City Councilwoman Janice Hahn said she remains committed to capturing Reggie, although concedes he may spend the winter in Machado Lake.
"Even though his brain is only the size of a walnut, he has outsmarted us all," Hahn said.
Reggie was probably scared into hiding by aggressive gator wranglers using nets and boats, Smith said, along with the large crowds of spectators and television lights that appeared after the alligator's discovery at Machado Lake in August.
"There was a time when he should have been fairly easy to capture," Smith said, noting that the alligator was raised as a pet in someone's back yard.
"But everyone went hog wild so now the poor guy is scared and he wants nothing to do with people."
Despite several trips out to the lake over the past few months, Smith only got his first glimpse of Reggie last week.
"He was becoming my Loch Ness Monster," he said. "I had no clue even where he was other than what people had said. Now, I kind of know where he's hanging out so that's a big help."
Harbor City's elusive alligator likely will hibernate as temperatures fall,