www.24dash.com/_images/ne...tor_PA.jpg
Big Boy the alligator. Photo: PA
A film-star alligator which appeared in the James Bond movie Live And
Let Die is to be stuffed and put on display following his death, the
zoo where he lived said today.
The 3m-long animal, Big Boy, died at Beaver Water World in Tatsfield,
Kent, at the age of 45.
He played a supporting role in the 1973 Bond movie, which features Big
Boy in a crocodile-infested pool and a stunt in which a Roger Moore
double runs over alligators.
Big Boy was born in 1961 at an alligator farm in Louisiana, US, and
grew from just 3in (8cm) to more than 9.8ft (3m) in length and weigh
19st 7lb (125kg).
After appearing in the 007 film, television adverts and TV sitcom The
Young Ones, the alligator spent his retirement at the zoo and reptile
rescue centre, which has featured on Pet Rescue, Animal Hospital and
The Really Wild Show.
He died following an illness, curator Stella Quayle said.
"He was immensely popular always," she said, adding that people had
been leaving flowers and cards at his enclosure since his death on
September 4.
"He was a real character," Ms Quayle said.
The alligator's favourite foods were partridge and plaice - and a
salmon, mushroom and dill dish of Ms Quayle's that was once fed to him
by accident, she said.
Ms Quayle described how, when she was cleaning his enclosure, Big Boy
would use his tail to flick the dirty water at her.
"He really did have a sense of humour," she said.
When Big Boy returns from the taxidermist, Ms Quayle hopes to put him
on display in the zoo's planned education centre, which will be used to
train RSPCA inspectors in how to deal with reptiles.
Big Boy the alligator. Photo: PA
A film-star alligator which appeared in the James Bond movie Live And
Let Die is to be stuffed and put on display following his death, the
zoo where he lived said today.
The 3m-long animal, Big Boy, died at Beaver Water World in Tatsfield,
Kent, at the age of 45.
He played a supporting role in the 1973 Bond movie, which features Big
Boy in a crocodile-infested pool and a stunt in which a Roger Moore
double runs over alligators.
Big Boy was born in 1961 at an alligator farm in Louisiana, US, and
grew from just 3in (8cm) to more than 9.8ft (3m) in length and weigh
19st 7lb (125kg).
After appearing in the 007 film, television adverts and TV sitcom The
Young Ones, the alligator spent his retirement at the zoo and reptile
rescue centre, which has featured on Pet Rescue, Animal Hospital and
The Really Wild Show.
He died following an illness, curator Stella Quayle said.
"He was immensely popular always," she said, adding that people had
been leaving flowers and cards at his enclosure since his death on
September 4.
"He was a real character," Ms Quayle said.
The alligator's favourite foods were partridge and plaice - and a
salmon, mushroom and dill dish of Ms Quayle's that was once fed to him
by accident, she said.
Ms Quayle described how, when she was cleaning his enclosure, Big Boy
would use his tail to flick the dirty water at her.
"He really did have a sense of humour," she said.
When Big Boy returns from the taxidermist, Ms Quayle hopes to put him
on display in the zoo's planned education centre, which will be used to
train RSPCA inspectors in how to deal with reptiles.
