Berlin WW2 Bombing Survivor Saturn the Alligator Dies in Moscow Zoo:
"Yesterday morning, our Mississippi alligator Saturn died of old age. He was about 84 years old - an extremely respectable age," the [Moskow Zoo] said.
Saturn was gifted to Berlin Zoo in 1936 soon after he was born in the US. He escaped the zoo being bombed in 1943.
British soldiers found him three years later and gave him to the Soviet Union.
[...] "Moscow Zoo has had the honour of keeping Saturn for 74 years," the zoo said in a statement.
"For us Saturn was an entire era, and that's without the slightest exaggeration... He saw many of us when we were children. We hope that we did not disappoint him."
[...] The zoo reported that Saturn knew his keepers, loved being massaged with a brush - and was able to crack steel feeding tongs and bits of concrete with his teeth if irritated.
Mississippi alligators usually live to 30-50 years in the wild, it added.
Saturn may even have been the world's oldest alligator - it's impossible to say. Another male alligator, Muja who is at Belgrade Zoo in Serbia, is also in his 80s and still alive.
[...] The so-called Battle of Berlin began in November 1943 and the night of 22-23 November saw extensive damage to areas west of the centre, including the Tiergarten district where the city's zoo is located.
[...] The zoo's aquarium building took a direct hit. One report said passers-by had seen the corpses of four crocodiles in the street outside, tossed there by the force of the blast.
Saturn somehow survived and then lived for three years in a city ravaged by war, and a climate unsuited to alligators.
Saturn, the alligator that survived WWII Berlin bombings dies of old age ~84 (give or take some months) which is quite a lot longer then most of its kind.
So what did he do for those three missing years roaming the country side, or Berlin's sewers? One would think someone would notice an alligator. Not to mention it has to feed so things should "go missing" (small animals mostly).
(Score: 3, Informative) by lentilla on Sunday May 24 2020, @01:45PM (2 children)
Now I understand the connection between Nazis and alligators!
Here is my favourite version from the TV series "Red Dwarf": Ace Rimmer jumping out of an aeroplane, surfing a Nazi alligator [youtube.com] to safety.
(For those new to Red Dwarf: this clip is a particularly silly spoof from a show that has never taken itself even slightly seriously. It makes me laugh every time I see it.)
(Score: 2, Troll) by Mojibake Tengu on Sunday May 24 2020, @02:50PM (1 child)
No, you don't.
The true connection is:
Geschichte der EidechsenGesellschaft in Preussen, Johannes Voigt, 1823
And it's been thusly since about a 9th century. Teutons are the Cult of Moloch.
Now all the furnaces in concentration camps make sense.
Respect Authorities. Know your social status. Woke responsibly.
(Score: 1, Flamebait) by gtomorrow on Sunday May 24 2020, @08:09PM
Oh, my. Somebody's been off their meds for a while, I see.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 24 2020, @01:55PM (3 children)
Alligators live in the wetlands of the southern United States. The reptiles were hunted close to extinction. After they were listed under the Endangered Species Act, hunting was prohibited and their habitat was protected. The species has made a dramatic recovery and was removed from the endangered species list in 1987. Because American alligator populations have recovered so well, hunting and egg collecting are allowed and a multi-million dollar industry has thrived in the South.
From https://www.endangered.org/animal/american-alligator/ [endangered.org]
(Score: 4, Touché) by ikanreed on Sunday May 24 2020, @02:31PM (2 children)
And as a bonus, they eat the children of the least responsible parents at disney world.
(Score: 2) by Gaaark on Sunday May 24 2020, @02:44PM
Who then sue thus proving their irresponsibility by blaming someone/something other than the responsible ones: themselves.
Parents, yes. Adults?.....hrmmmm...
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
(Score: 1) by RandomFactor on Sunday May 24 2020, @03:45PM
Nostradamus wrote Idiocracy.
В «Правде» нет известий, в «Известиях» нет правды
(Score: 2, Funny) by Rosco P. Coltrane on Sunday May 24 2020, @05:03PM (7 children)
He escaped Nazi Germany, only to end up in captivity in a Soviet gulag. A very common story...
(Score: 3, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 24 2020, @07:29PM (6 children)
The fact he lived to 84 proves the superiority of communist gulags over fascist work camps.
(Score: 1, Redundant) by gtomorrow on Sunday May 24 2020, @08:13PM (5 children)
WTF? What is this even supposed to mean? That one prison camp is preferable to another prison camp?
Is that supposed to be funny?
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 24 2020, @10:17PM
It does rather parody the usual back and forth on here (and in the US generally). None of us want ANY of that... and yet Fox News lets loose the dogs of fascism nightly. I'd say it's "both sides" but it's not. It's a Republican shit show - in fact, I think they're just trolling at this point but in too deep to get out.
(Score: 3, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 24 2020, @10:53PM (3 children)
Generally speaking, long-life camps are preferable to death camps, because, you know, of the "death". The old Nazi/rightwing/fascist expression, "Arbeit Macht Tot" comes into play here. It's like Republicans and "Welfare to Work" proposals, or "Right to Work" legislation. I realize these are subtle distinctions, and may be too difficult for one such as yourself, but rest assured that those more intelligent than you grasp the difference completely.
(Score: 2) by gtomorrow on Monday May 25 2020, @07:59AM (2 children)
"Preferable." Hmmm. I hadn't considered that one would be preferable to the other. I thank God for people like you that explain these subtle, higher concepts to people like me in an uncondescending, informative manner.
Being the knuckle-dragging troglodyte that I unfortunately am, let me suggest to you an experiment: how about you, higher class of intelligent being, submit to (as you defined the distinction) a "long-life" camp, for the sake of argument, for the next ten years. Then enter a "death camp" for the following ten. Your choice of whose camp wherever, just as long as they qualify as such. At the end of my simplistic 20-year experiment — because you couldn't expect me to escogitate something more complex or refined, could you? — report the main differences between the two, specifically how one is "preferable" to the other. That is, if you survive the latter, which theoretically you could. If not, your above explanation will have been proven beyond a shadow of doubt...and nothing of value will have been lost.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 26 2020, @02:44AM (1 child)
Truely, the dumb is strong in this one! And why do you insist on wasting the time of your betters with such silly experiment proposals? Do you not realize that those who are intellectually superior to you see right through your vain attempt at an obvious rebuttal? You are like a child lying: very, very poor at understanding the comprehension of others, and so unable to deceive. Now go back to your NASCAR and Chamber of Commerce meeting, and spread some Covid19, Transitioning, as they call it. Or I will have to condescend you a seconde tyme!!!
(Score: 2) by gtomorrow on Tuesday May 26 2020, @06:36PM
I keep forgetting the level of Autism Spectrum disorder on this site, especially from the anonymous cowards.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by looorg on Sunday May 24 2020, @07:40PM (6 children)
I thought this was kind of a funny story, somewhat feelgood. Alligator escapes zoo during bombings and then goes and does something for three years or so on it's own. I guess there was plenty of "fresh corpses" around to snack on or nobody really cared if lots of small animals -- cats, dogs, rats and whatnot went missing. I really wonder if there was no reports on this or if they found corpses with weird bite marks (beyond cannibalism).
To then get captured and go on to live longer in zoo then most of his compatriots does out in the the wild was just icing somehow.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 24 2020, @10:46PM
Had a great-uncle who was among the first US forces to enter Berlin at the close of the war. Said once he heard noise down a dark alley, trained his Tommy gun on it, and a Black Leopard ran past the trashcans and down the street. He then notices the giraffes on the Strasse, because, yes, they had bombed the zoo. Fits with Saturn.
Of course, his other story was about using anti-tank mines to blow the door of a bank vault, and finding gold bars, jewels and such, but they only took paper money since the other stuff was too heavy for a commando to lug with them. Uncle never was the sharpest tool in the shed.
(Score: 2) by Bot on Sunday May 24 2020, @10:54PM (4 children)
-Herr citizen
-was
-here, a gift
-thank u, is it something with chocolate?
-no a reptile
-oh. Well I'll call it Rudolph
-no, name is Saturn
-so, a reptile named after the god of hell, what can possibly go wrong?
Account abandoned.
(Score: 3, Informative) by aristarchus on Monday May 25 2020, @01:03AM (3 children)
Pretty ignorant, even for an illiterate Italian Bot like yourself. "Saturn" is the Latin (you know, before there was Italy?) for Cronos, the father of Jupiter (Zeus), who was forced into retirement after the Titanomachia. Perhaps you are confusing the father for Zeus' bros? Hades, and Poseidon? Of course, the whole "god" thing does seem to confuse you.
(Score: 2) by Bot on Monday May 25 2020, @06:28AM (2 children)
https://www.google.com/search?q=lucifer%20identifies%20saturn [google.com]
OK BOOMER
It is pretty consolidate to identify the evil one with Saturn, which kinda puts the saturnio, hat of the clerics, and especially the pilgrimage to mecca (another identifier is the cube shape so you have pilgrims going around Saturn the God as the dust goes around Saturn the planet) in strange light. A facepalm moment, more like.
Account abandoned.
(Score: 2) by aristarchus on Monday May 25 2020, @06:37AM (1 child)
You Catholic infidel, you! I spite in your general direction, since the gods of you are not the gods of anyone, and do not actually exist. Some may thing, with limited computing power, the "Saturn" and "Satan" equate to the same limited text parameters. But surely you realize that Satan is Lucifer, the bearer of light, and so identified with the planet Venus, as the Morning Star. And this is why Lt. General George Armstrong Custer was called the Son of the Morning Star, and was dealt with most appropriately.
You see, the problem with Italian Catholics is that they have been under the heel of the Church for so long, that they no longer are able to recognize facts, research, science, or truth. And that has made them stupid, and more drunk than Lutherans. Hard bit to pull off, especially for a bot. Bit more lubrication, eh?
(Score: 2) by Bot on Tuesday May 26 2020, @01:27PM
Satan is identified with venus in its female aspect obviously, and the virgin mary is identified as the morning star, and the bearer of light oppa prometheus style is imitation of The Light itself. If you chose one interpretation you don't discount all others for everybody else, my dear philosopher.
Account abandoned.
(Score: -1, Spam) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 24 2020, @09:31PM
Are you enjoying COVID-19, Boomers? I hope you are, because your political response to the pandemic has completely destroyed the economy. Did we really need a Great Recession in 2008 caused by you, and a Great Lockdown in 2020 caused by you? Are you proud of yourselves for creating an economic depression even worse than the Great Depression of the 1930s? Are you proud of yourselves, Boomers? Your legacy will be economic ruin for all. You don't care as long as you Boomers continue to receive your pensions. You Boomers don't have jobs. You Boomers don't create jobs. You Boomers don't do anything for anyone ever. You Boomers are utterly worthless parasites. You don't care about anybody except yourselves. Everybody except you is forced at gunpoint to wear a facemask while you Boomers sit in your giant mansions laughing and waiting to die when you will be buried with your fortunes so nobody will ever touch your precious money.
Boomers did COVID-19.