'Hitler's crocodile' dies at 84 in Moscow zoo. The reptile - named Saturn - which allegedly belonged to the Nazi leader was sent to the Russian capital from his previous home in Berlin, back in 1946. Zoo staff said he liked to "gnaw metal" https://www.mk.ru/social/2020/05/23/lichnyy-krokodil-gitlera-umer-v-moskovskom-zooparke.html
'Saturn' (an alligator, not a crocodile, sorry) has a really detailed Wikipedia entry. Born in Mississippi, in 1936, he was soon after shipped to Berlin Zoo, which Hitler enjoyed visiting. It was destroyed in 1943 & he took to the streets looking for food
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturn_(alligator)
Of the zoo's 16,000 animals, only 96 survived. In 1946, British soldiers gave him to the Soviets: "In 1993, when Russian tanks were moving down the Garden Ring, Saturn cried out because of the vibrations, which a zookeeper thinks reminded him of the Battle of Berlin"
"In the 1950s, the US gave the Soviets a younger, female alligator as a gift. She & Saturn began mating, although they did not produce any offspring. Shipka later died, and Saturn was so distressed by her death that he refused food for a time.
"In his time at Moscow Zoo, Saturn had several narrow escapes from death... Once, a drunk visitor threw a boulder on his head to wake him up, after which zoo vets fought to keep him alive for months. Another time, a group of tourists threw glass bottles at Saturn, injuring him"
When he first arrived in Moscow, his German origins earned him the nickname 'Hitler', but he was later given the name 'Saturn.' Also, in 2005, he was sponsored by the French clothing designer Lacoste. What a life!
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