We have had Stewart since 1996 and he was the first alligator we received in our care. At the time he was about 2 feet long and weighed less than 5 pounds. He was the first alligator we used for educational programs and very quickly became very used to being handled. Stewart has changed a little in the past 15 years. He is now 9′ long and weighs in at around 500 pounds. Although his size has changed dramatically his nature has not. He is still as gentle as the days he first started doing shows with us and still allows us to enter his cage and even enter the water and interact with him albeit CAREFULLY…lol!