July 22, 2006, 9:26PM
Condemned gator's sentence commuted to life on exhibit
Plan to euthanize Crusty is scuttled when donor comes to the rescue

Associated Press

FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. - Crusty the alligator is getting a second chance.

An anonymous donor has put up about $1,000 to catch the elusive reptile, which had become so accustomed to people feeding him that wildlife managers thought he was potentially dangerous. Officials had said they were going to remove him from a canal along Florida's Alligator Alley in the Everglades and euthanize him.


Instead, Crusty and three other alligators will be sent to an animal exhibit in the Seminole Reservation in Hollywood, Fla. Crusty is the only one of the four that remains on the lam.