Muja ( sr-Cyrl, Муја; ) (hatched c. 1925–1935) is an American alligator living in the

Belgrade Zoo Beo zoo vrt ( sr-Cyrl, Бео зоо врт), also known as Vrt dobre nade ( Serbian Cyrilic: Врт добре наде, ''The Garden of good hope''), is a publicly owned zoo located in Kalemegdan Park, downtown of Belgrade, Serbia. Established ...

and is the oldest known alligator in captivity. Having arrived at the zoo in 1937, Muja has lived through both the

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and Allied bombings of Belgrade during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, as well as the

NATO bombing of Yugoslavia The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) carried out an aerial bombing campaign against the Serbia and Montenegro, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War. The air strikes lasted from 24 March 1999 to 10 June 1999. The bombing ...

in 1999. Following the death of

Čabulītis Čabulītis (''floruit, fl.'' 1935 – 21 August 2007) was a captive American Alligator residing at the Riga Zoo in Riga, Latvia. At time of his death he was thought to be one of the oldest captive alligators in Europe. Information at the Riga Zoo ...

at the

Riga Zoo Riga Zoo is a city-owned zoo in Riga, Latvia. It is located in Mežaparks neighbourhood next to the Mežaparks park, on the western bank of Ķīšezers lake. Riga Zoo houses around 4000 animals of nearly 500 species and is visited by 250–30 ...

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in 2007, Muja was recognized as the oldest known alligator in captivity by

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, list ...

. In 2012, Muja's right foot had to be amputated after he was diagnosed with

gangrene Gangrene is a type of tissue death caused by a lack of blood supply. Symptoms may include a change in skin color to red or black, numbness, swelling, pain, skin breakdown, and coolness. The feet and hands are most commonly affected. If the ga ...

. Muja remains popular among visitors to the zoo and has gained a following on social media platforms such as

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Life

Muja is an American alligator (''Alligator mississippiensis''). According to the

's website, he arrived at the zoo on 9 August 1937.

reports the date of his arrival as 12 September 1937. Muja's age at the time of his arrival is unknown. Alligators typically grow between and per year after hatching, and are considered adults upon reaching a length of . It takes around 12 years on average for an alligator to become fully mature. As Muja was already fully grown in 1937, he may have been at least 10–12 years old when he arrived. Conversely, a contemporary newspaper clipping reported him as being two years old at the time of his arrival. All documentation pertaining to his acquisition was lost during World War II. Such paucity of records is not uncommon and many zoos around the world find it difficult to determine the exact age of their older alligators. Muja survived the

German bombing of Belgrade The German bombing of Belgrade, codenamed Operation Retribution () or Operation Punishment, was the April 1941 German bombing of Belgrade, the capital of Yugoslavia, in retaliation for the coup d'état that overthrew the government that had si ...

in April 1941, during the

invasion of Yugoslavia The invasion of Yugoslavia, also known as the April War or Operation 25, was a Nazi Germany, German-led attack on the Kingdom of Yugoslavia by the Axis powers which began on 6 April 1941 during World War II. The order for the invasion was put fo ...

, in which the Belgrade Zoo was damaged. He also survived the Allied bombing of Belgrade in 1944. During the war years, the zoo was barely able to function, and its animals faced grueling winters. This resulted in the deaths of many of the zoo's animals. In 1999, Muja lived through the

, during which buildings located within several blocks of the Belgrade Zoo were destroyed. The average lifespan of an American alligator is between 35 and 50 years. By some accounts, Muja became the oldest known alligator in captivity in 2007, when

died at the

. Other sources suggest Muja became the world's oldest alligator in May 2020, following the death of

Saturn Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest in the Solar System, after Jupiter. It is a gas giant, with an average radius of about 9 times that of Earth. It has an eighth the average density of Earth, but is over 95 tim ...

in the

Moscow Zoo The Moscow Zoo or Moskovsky Zoopark () is a zoo, the largest in Russia. History The Moscow Zoo was founded in 1864 by professor-biologists, K.F. Rulje, S.A. Usov and A.P. Bogdanov, from the Moscow State University. In 1919, the zoo was natio ...

. Muja is the Belgrade Zoo's last surviving animal from the 1930s and 1940s. He is widely regarded as the oldest living alligator in captivity and has been recognized as such by

. However, it is not uncommon for alligators in captivity to live more than 70 years.

Health and lifestyle

Muja spends the summers in a pond and winters in a special chamber, which was renovated in 2016 to resemble a cave. He is fed once a week and usually eats of meat. His diet consists of skinned rats, rabbits, bird, horse meat and beef. He eats this together with bones, which are good for his teeth and calcium levels. Due to his old age, it is difficult for him to hunt for his food, and zookeepers instead place it right in front of his jaw. Unless he is being prodded or fed, Muja is usually motionless, leading some visitors to inquire whether he is alive. According to the zoo's veterinarian, Jožef Ezveđ, Muja has a good degree of mobility for an alligator his age. In February 2012, zookeepers noticed that Muja seemed to be experiencing discomfort in his right foreleg. A team led by veterinary surgeon Srećko Radojičić subsequently diagnosed Muja with

and judged that the only way to prolong his life would be to amputate the leg. The team had only 48 hours to prepare for the surgery. Prior to the amputation, Muja was given

local anesthesia Local anesthesia is any technique to induce the absence of sense, sensation in a specific part of the body, generally for the aim of inducing local analgesia, i.e. local insensitivity to pain, although other local senses may be affected as well. ...

and tied down to the operating table. The procedure lasted three hours, and according to zookeeper Aleksandar Rakočević, was done using local anesthesia. Muja was given antibiotics before and after the procedure. "The very next day after the surgery he started eating," Rakočević said. "Every time he eats it is a sign of his recovery." Afterwards, Muja was separated from a group of three young alligators that had arrived to the zoo from Cuba. Muja's longevity has attracted the attention of social media users and the alligator has become popular on social media platforms such as

References

External links

* {{Commons category-inline 1920s animal births 1930s animal births Animal world record holders Individual alligators Individual animals in Serbia

Life

Health and lifestyle

See also

References

External links