Post #14984

Hitler's alligator: survived for 3 years in the ruins of Berlin, ended up in the USSR and gained fame Alligator Saturn is a creature whose life story is not easy to believe. Just imagine: he crossed half the globe, survived the war and bombings, saw Hitler, hid from the authorities for several years in Europe and eventually became the most popular reptile of a huge country. And all this - in the first 10 years of your life! Saturn was born somewhere in the state of Mississippi, as befits a normal Mississippi alligator. In 1936, about a year after his birth, he was caught and sold to the Berlin Zoo along with 30 of his unfortunate brothers and sisters. Within its walls they grew and delighted visitors with their exotic appearance, even when the war began. The Berlin Zoo was hit by an air raid and was almost completely destroyed. 20 out of 30 crocodiles died on the spot. The rest managed to scatter through the streets, where they either died a few hours later or were caught by zoo workers. But they never managed to find Saturn. We still don't know how he survived the next 3 years. It may have warmed itself in the warm sewer waters and fed on carrion and rodents. And in this case, he was incredibly lucky, because a slight minus for Berlin is a deadly norm for reptiles. Or maybe he was sheltered by some compassionate (or eccentric) German, thanks to whom the reptile survived the harsh winters. But even if the last assumption is true, they still diverged paths with the German. After all, in the summer of 1946, the British military discovered an alligator sunbathing on the bank of a river within the city. Unable to deliver Saturn to them, the British turned to the USSR military, and they, in turn, transported the alligator to the Leningrad Zoo. Where he got his nickname - Saturn. Of course, the Germans gave him a completely different nickname, but almost all information about the alligator was destroyed along with the zoo. And the information vacuum was quickly filled with all sorts of rumors, revolving mainly around the personality of Adolf Hitler. Others said that he was his favorite animal, which the Fuhrer often visited. However, these rumors have no relation to reality. Although some of the animals in the zoo were indeed supplied from Hitler's pocket, the crocodiles and alligators were not one of them. And there is not a single evidence that he showed any interest in reptiles. However, we digress. In 1946, Saturn arrived at the Leningrad Zoo and immediately became one of the most popular animals. Crowds of people of different ages constantly gathered around the enclosure with ten-year-old Saturn and two crocodiles: from old people and war veterans to very young children. Why was he so popular? And because television was accessible to few, they didn’t even dream about the Internet, and there wouldn’t have been even a couple of dozen crocodiles in the entire USSR. And the alligator, it seems, was completely alone. So he enjo