Muja has lived through multiple bombing campaigns and several countries—all while never leaving a tiny pool in Belgrade’s zoo for 83 years, making him the world’s oldest captive alligator. While zookeepers don’t know his exact hatch day, the reptile arrived in Belgrade this week in August of 1937 from a German zoo. “He’s an older gentleman and we respect his age,” Jozef Edvedj, the zoo’s veterinarian, told Agence France-presse (AFP) with a smile after handlers helped guide a dead rat to the jaws of the slow-moving reptile.

Oldest captive gator a World War II survivor. (2020, August 15). Philippine Daily Inquirer, pp. A1, A8.