When captured in Papua New Guinea in 1968 by a trapper named George Criag, Gomek was already an adult.
Gomek was purchased by Terri and Arthur Jones in 1985, and kept in Ocala, Florida, before being sold to the St. Augustine Alligator Farm.
Gomek arrived in St. Augustine in 1989, and became the Alligator Farm's Star Attraction.
Gomek had his own pool, and ate from a daily menu which consisted of mullet, chicken, and opossums.
Gomek sadly died in 1997 from a heart attack, believed to have been caused by not removing the skin from his chicken.
When Gomek died, he was 5.42 m (17 ft 9 in) long, and weighed 860 kilograms (1,896 lb).
He is now housed in a climate controlled building near his original habitat at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park.
When captured in Papua New Guinea in 1968 by a trapper named George Criag, Gomek was already an adult.
Gomek was purchased by Terri and Arthur Jones in 1985, and kept in Ocala, Florida, before being sold to the St. Augustine Alligator Farm.
Gomek arrived in St. Augustine in 1989, and became the Alligator Farm's Star Attraction.
Gomek had his own pool, and ate from a daily menu which consisted of mullet, chicken, and opossums.
Gomek sadly died in 1997 from a heart attack, believed to have been caused by not removing the skin from his chicken.
When Gomek died, he was 5.42 m (17 ft 9 in) long, and weighed 860 kilograms (1,896 lb).
He is now housed in a climate controlled building near his original habitat at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park.