Okefenokee Joe was over 75 years old at the time of his death. It is believed that he had lived in a swamp in Georgia (USA) since World War II. Although its exact age is unknown, it was a very old alligator that died of its advanced age (in fact, researchers believe that it was probably already around 80 years, the maximum life expectancy of an alligator).
The Georgia Coastal Ecology Laboratory had been monitoring their movements in the Okefenokee Swamp since June 2020, according to a statement from the center itself on Facebook. It was last tracked via GPS on July 20.
"We first thought that the tracker was simply dropped, as it had been several weeks since we had received GPS points from it." But after several weeks, they found the satellite tracker and the lab confirmed his death.
The animal weighed more than 180 kilos and was 3.5 meters tall , so he would have been considered a "dominant male in his time, although" we suspect that his old age and poor vision would have hampered his ability to compete with younger alligators in this moment".
"We are very grateful to have known him, for his contribution to science and the greater understanding and preservation of his species," said the experts.
