Gomek

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Gomek was a large Saltwater Crocodile captured by George Craig in Papua New Guinea. He was purchased by Terri and Arthur Jones in 1985 and was kept in Ocala, Florida for five years before being sold to the St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park in Florida. For 8 years he wowed spectators with both his amazing nutria-tossing abilities and his even more amazing tolerance of people. Feeders of the large croc were allowed to go into the enclosure and get as close as 1 meter from the large animal (a normally suicidal proximity) without any fear of attack. While feeders still used long tongs to feed Gomek, he was generally considered to be a "tame" crocodile and was the favorite of the Alligator farm and people around the nation.

After many years, Gomek died of heart disease on March 6, 1997. By then, he was a very old crocodile, and the largest and tamest captive crocodile in existence. When he died, he was 17.9 feet (5.5 m) long, and weighed well over 2,000 pounds - as confirmed by St. Augustine Alligator Farm - and probably between 70 and 80 years old. There is a tribute to Gomek in St. Augustine.