Reggie the alligator -- the John Dillinger of semi-aquatic reptiles -- was returned to custody Wednesday after having busted out of the slammer at the L.A. Zoo overnight.
Reggie, who had won international fame while eluding capture in a Harbor City lake for almost two years, was last seen in stir about 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. About 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, zoo personnel discovered he'd blown the joint.
It was an hour and a half later when a search party of zoo handlers discovered him hiding out near a zoo loading dock.
"He'd found a comfortable bush to hang out under," said handler Ian Recchio, who participated in the bust. "He was just sleeping there. Reggie was pretty heated up this morning. As the weather gets warm, alligators get more agile and stronger."
Recchio said the 7 1/2 -foot, 120-pound fugitive "put up a little fight" as authorities laid hands on him. He then went quietly as he was hustled off to quarantine while zoo investigators tried to dope out his escape route and tightened security at his luxury cell.
At 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, a yellow truck pulled up to his habitat and five zoo personnel emerged carrying the fugitive, whose face was wrapped in a white towel. Once inside, while Reggie hissed loudly, they removed the towel and a black band that bound his mouth, then scattered, at breakneck speed, to safety.
As 50 visitors watched, Reggie swiveled his head and crawled slowly into the water. As onlookers yelled, "Reggie! Reggie!" he showily swam the perimeter of the pond, then buried himself beneath vegetation in one of its murky corners.
Initial indications were that Reggie had climbed a chain-link fence at the back of his enclosure, then clambered over a series of brick ridges above it to freedom. Once on the ground, he followed another chain-link fence about 500 yards to the loading dock area.
"It's been so warm lately, and alligators are all nocturnal, so Reggie was just moving around, checking things out, just exploring when he escaped," said Zoo Director John Lewis. "It just goes to show that he's an extremely healthy, agile animal. We've certainly learned our lesson."
The inmate had been on display at the zoo since only last Thursday.
He'd been kept in solitary confinement, isolated from the facility's eight other alligators, in what officials termed a "luxury suite" with shade, vegetation and a pond and waterfall of filtered water.
