Ponchatoula, Louisiana - Old Blue Eyes - Town Gator in a Cage

Ponchatoula has an unusual resident who doubles as town mascot and newspaper columnist. Old Blue Eyes, the successor of the more famous Old Hardhide, is a disquietingly large alligator whose cage marks a distinctive center of town, nestled among frequently visited antique shops and restaurants. Although there are no reports of alligator-ingested fingers or other appendages, visitors often stand by Old Blue Eyes' cage, wrapping their fingers through his chain link fence, waiting for him to move slowly around his small pool. Old Blue Eyes is quite the gossip as well, as his central location gives him access to all the details of Ponchatoula residents' comings and goings. He publishes news of the townfolk weekly in the Ponchatoula Times. [Marcella Briceno, 02/20/1999]

[RA: Sounds like Old Hardhide -- a tourism fixture since 1972 -- is dead.]