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Staff writer

Siah St. Clair has seen a variety of exotic animals come through the nature center in his day – an African chameleon, a leopard tortoise, even a boa constrictor. But his newest visitor came as somewhat of a surprise.

“In the 38 years I’ve been doing this, this is the first alligator brought in,” said St. Clair, director of Springbrook Nature Center in Fridley.

A community service officer dropped the 30-inch gator off at the center April 3. Someone was keeping him in an apartment complex. Residents complained, the police got involved and now Springbrook sits with the reptile, although only for a short while.

A puzzler solved

St. Clair was faced with a conundrum in early April when the upcoming Spring Fling event was slated for a few days later. One-hundred and ten volunteers, 1,600 visitors and a scared alligator are not exactly a wise mix.

So St. Clair did what any level-headed naturalist would do: He took the alligator home and put him in his bathtub.

April 8, the small fellow, who can grow to proportions of 15 feet or longer, was back at the nature center and making for valuable lessons for 80 kindergartners lucky enough to catch a glimpse of him.

He tied in with St. Clair’s teaching of the five senses. As it turns out the alligator has the same as we humans – hearing, touch, sight, smell and taste.

St. Clair said the animals get a bad rap in horror movies and sometimes on “Animal Planet.” But the gator is what St. Clair enjoys best about his job. Learning new things.

Last week he was boning up on what to feed his newest visitor. Raw chicken, bait fish or mice, maybe. Alligators don’t need food every day, he learned.

However, a cold-blooded reptile does need to sit in the sun. The toasty surroundings warm the body and aid in digestion. The warmth also helps the animal’s metabolism.

St. Clair said sometimes irresponsible pet owners, when they grow tired of caring for them, drop their exotic pets off in a wooded area. An alligator would not survive a Minnesota winter, he said.

St. Clair recalls when someone dropped off an 18-inch boa constrictor 10 years ago at the center. The animal has grown to a whopping 6 1/2 feet long. Springbrook uses the snake for teaching purposes.

A short visit

But the gator’s visit at the nature center will be brief. It is not equipped to handle an alligator.

In fact, when St. Clair first got the call from Fridley Police, he was immediately on the phone to the Minnesota Herpetological Society asking if the organization would be able to find an acceptable home for the animal.

Alligators are not that unusual in urban areas, but it depends on whether the city has a dangerous animal ordinance, said John Moriarity of Ramsey County, a member of MHS.

Chances are “pretty good that they get adopted,” he said. “Sometimes they are adopted outside of the state.”

A zoo might be a possibility, but the animals tend to end up with private individuals, he said.

St. Clair hopes the alligator will find a suitable home soon.

“You don’t like to see animals suffer,” he said. “I hope he can live without a lot of stress and grow, and maybe be with other alligators.”


Elyse Kaner is at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it