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Billed as "Al Ligardo, The Gator That Walks Like A Man", he was displayed at the zoo, until at the age of 10 he began to speak. Fearing legal repercussions if their mistreatment of a sentient animal were widely know, they began educating and housing Al in a more humane way.
At the age of 18, he became an employee of the University of Florida, serving as their school mascot, a position he came to hate with the passion of a thousand suns. He performed his duties properly, wearing the orange sweater and green body paint at football games and rallies, but as the years stretched, the fact that most people treated him as a monkey in a suit took their toll. It was only his sense of honor, and the fact that Wilma did her undergraduate studies at the university, that kept him from voiding his contract.
After 10 years as a University employee, he left when his contract expired, his time leaving him with no real skills. Bitter and practically destitute, he returned to Orlando, where he works in construction as a replacement for heavy lifting machinery.
His childhood crush on Wilma Herring has grown into a fierce devotion, one that is unrequited and, he knows, doomed. The attentions of handsome alligator wrestler Flavio Jones for Wilma are a constant irritant for Al. After her father’s death, Wilma, with a newly minted doctorate of her own, took her father’s place as biologist at Gator Land.
Al is widely knows as the “Florida Gator”, having appeared on television in that role for many years. Many people assume that he is the embodiment of the University of Florida, when in fact he despises the school and everything associated with it. While he has become accustomed to being hooted-at by beer-swilling frat boys, it never ceases to annoy him. The one thing that truly flips him out, however, is being followed and harassed by the media. Much of his financial trouble stems from a judgment against him stemming from a much-hushed-up incident involving a television remote truck and the University swimming pool.