ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – Jawlene, Jawlene, please don’t take my hand.
Not that there’s very much threat of losing a hand to Jawlene, anyway. The clear Dolly Parton reference serves as the newly-given name for a young alligator missing her upper jaw, rescued in Sanford earlier this month and since taken in by Gatorland.
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Jawlene appeared in a new video posted to the reptile park’s social media this week. In it, Gatorland’s Global Ambassador Savannah Boan holds her as CEO Mark McHugh shares the groovy news.
“This little gator is an absolute treasure, we are so in love with her, but another American treasure is Dolly Parton,” McHugh said. “One of the names that kind of rung really clear with us and grew on us was a takeoff on one of Dolly’s famous songs, so we’re going to name this little gator, ‘Jawlene.’”
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Though she’s still in quarantine, Jawlene is said to be eating more and gaining weight, munching two mice all by herself just on Wednesday.
“She’s got her own private pool, Savannah put some floating plants in there that she can hide under so she feels comfortable, and we’re just letting her settle down in her routine,” McHugh said.
Regarding potential prosthetics for Jawlene, McHugh said Gatorland was going to hold off for now.
“We have talked with some people who make prosthetics for animals and for people, people that do 3D printing, and that’s something down the road. We don’t want to stress her out by trying to do anything on her right now,” McHugh said. “We’re gonna let her get comfortable, start eating, put on some weight and just get situated in her new world and just keep getting healthy.”
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