Gatorland salutes rescue animals with Walk of Fame

Gatorland is rolling out an in-park tribute to its rescue animals past and present. The first stars of its new Alligator Walk of Fame now can be seen along the attraction’s breeding marsh boardwalk.

“It’s a way to try to get more news out there, letting more folks know about our conservation program through Gatorland Global,” said Mark McHugh, president and CEO of the attraction — “to protect, conserve and educate is our mission there.”

Gatorland just marked its 100th rescue animal with an alligator now called Homey D, named after the Home Depot store he had been living behind.

The first alligator Hall of Famer appearing on the north end of the walk is Chester, who became the first rescue in 2002 . Chester was famously a threat to dogs in a Tampa neighborhood. At the time, state law prohibited attractions such as Gatorland to take alligators from the wild, McHugh said.

After hearing about Chester, “we contacted Florida Fish and Wildlife and asked for a modification of that rule so that we can purchase them live from trappers,” he said. That was the first time that had happened in the state, and now rescue alligators can live out their natural lives at the South Orange Blossom Trail attraction. Chester resided in a prime Gatorland location until his death in late 2022.

The Walk of Fame animals are presented in a Hollywood star style, with a photo of the alligator and information about the gator, including the year rescued.

The first batch includes notable gators such as Bogey, Larry, Turnpike, Terminator and Jawlene, who is missing her upper jaw and has rocketed to fame after moving into Gatorland from the Sanford area.

“People just love her. Every day people are coming in here going ‘Where’s Jawlene?’” McHugh said. “They start crying when they’re looking at her and reading her story. She’s something special.”

A kid’s book about Jawlene’s story is in the works, said Savannah Boan, Gatorland Global ambassador, with hopes it will be available at Christmastime.

“It’s a good story of how your differences make you special, from a kid’s vantage point,” Boan said.

Showing off the personalities of the animals helps people relate to them and their challenges, McHugh said.

“It helps people to love them, get more concerned about their conservation, what’s going on with them around the state of Florida and around the world,” he said. “It just kind of feeds upon itself.”

Gatorland Global is involved in reptile projects in Cuba, Jamaica, Venezuela and beyond.

“One hundred percent of the money that we make from our social-media programs go directly to our programs,” McHugh said.

dbevil@orlandosentinel.com