Time to revisit Reggie

Reggie, the alligator set loose last year in Harbor City's Machado Lake, hasn't been seen since October. Gator watchers are pretty sure he's still there, though, and will be waking up from winter hibernation any day now. When he does, they hope to finally catch the elusive Reggie. But after all the failed attempts, false alarms and media hype last summer and fall, would you bet on it? Today's Daily Breeze reports:

The reptiles typically awaken extremely hungry and begin actively feeding. It's also their breeding season, adding to the sudden burst of activity. (There is no evidence there are any other alligators in the 53-acre lake in Ken Malloy Harbor Regional Park. It also has never been determined whether Reggie is a male or a female.)

But if Reggie is a male, Williams said, "There's a very good chance you may hear him bellow. It may not be real loud, but in the mornings and evenings it sounds like someone cranking up a motorcycle. They lift their head and tail and bellow maybe three to six times and then stop."

It's expected that the alligator's movements will be visible in these early months of spring.

"He'll be feeding and actively basking in the sun," Smith said. "You can expect that the first activities will be diurnal, in the daytime, so he should be fairly noticeable.

"He'll be hungry, so the frogs, fish and ducks better start watching out."

Despite how badly everything went last year, Reggie's publicity value hasn't faded. At the instruction of Councilwoman Janice Hahn, no capture efforts will be made until "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin shows up sometime in April. Also: A New York University film major is shooting a Reggie documentary. By the way, that's not a picture of Reggie above. It's a caiman—the original sightings last year were of a suspected caiman—but it's all we've got and I like it.