Thirty years ago - Monster from Loch Neuss - Hunt for Alligator Sammy
He was one of the most famous Stars of the notorious Dormagen Swamp: Kaiman Sammy. The search for the escaped Alligator caused an international stir 30 years ago. Sammy escaped when his owner took him on a swimming trip to a gravel pit lake near Dormagen on the Lower Rhine. For days, police, fire department, and media were breathlessly following the search, moving the entire nation.
After Sammy's escape on July 10, 1994, the authorities called for a large wildlife hunt. Due to fear of the 80 centimeter long Reptile with sharp teeth, the idyllic gravel pit lake remained closed during that hot summer. People talked about the "Beast from the Gravel Pit" and the "Monster from Loch Neuss." Photographers and camera crews from home and abroad set up positions at the lake shore. Zoologists and other "experts" - from the Kenyan Crocodile Hunter to the Psychic - offered good advice.
Sammy doesn't fall for tricks
But whether with nets, traps, or guns - all attempts to capture the Brillenkaiman on land or in the water failed at first. He didn't fall for tricks like a crocodile caller and a bait made of bloody raw meat. Firefighters in inflatable boats came as close as two meters to the fugitive, but then he simply disappeared again.
The supposedly tame Caiman, who had lived in the apartment of his then 21-year-old owner before that, seemed to increasingly enjoy freedom and enjoyed his "swimming vacation" in the lake, which offered numerous hiding places with sandy beaches and dense riverbank vegetation.
Three nights after Sammy's escape, the news came: The Reptile had been shot. "With 99-percent certainty, one of the three shots hit him," the Police reported. But they were far off: A few hours later, Sammy was spotted alive.
A diver as a hero
Meanwhile, more and more voices were calling for mercy for Sammy. A fan club was founded, associations and scientists from all over Germany demanded to save his life. Even the North Rhine-Westphalian Interior Minister Herbert Schnoor (SPD) got involved and demanded: "Sammy must live!"
Five days later, Sammy's escape into freedom had a happy ending: A sports diver discovered the Caiman about one meter under the water surface - and caught him with bare hands.
The exhausted Sammy recovered first at the Cologne Zoo, then found exile at the Falkenstein Animal Park in Saxony. Sammy's owner fought in various courts for his friend and was allowed to take him back several times, but he finally failed before the Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court in 1998.
Skippy, Bruno and Yvonne
The animal keepers in Saxony considered Sammy, who had been cuddled as a small Alligator in the bed of his former owner, increasingly dangerous. In 2006, the approximately 1.5 meter long Reptile was given away "for safety reasons." Until his death in 2013, Sammy lived alone in a cage on an Alligator Farm in Hesse.
Animal stars rule the headlines and move emotions - sometimes for weeks on end. Kangaroo Skippy hopped merrily through the Sauerland in 2015, Cow Yvonne escaped successfully from the slaughterhouse in 2011, Swan Petra fell in love with a swan pedal boat on the Aasee in Münster, and Brown Bear Bruno made it into the "New York Times" in 2006.
- Despite the efforts of the Fire department and police using nets, traps, and guns, the giant Caiman Sammy, known as the 'Brillenkaiman', remained elusive in the gravel pit lake in North Rhine-Westphalia.
- The international hunt for Sammy led to a closure of the lake during that hot summer, earning him the titles 'The Beast from the Gravel Pit' and 'The Monster from Loch Neuss'.
- Residents of Germany and beyond followed the Miscellaneous news about the Alligator's escape, including psychics and zoologists, offering advice on how to capture him.
- After being shot with three bullets, Sammy was found alive a few hours later, swimming in the Lower Rhine, demonstrating his resilience and cunning.
- The successful end to Sammy's escape saw him captured by a sports diver and brought to the Cologne Zoo, where he could recover before eventually being relocated to the Falkenstein Animal Park in Saxony.
- In 2006, due to concerns for safety, Sammy was given away to an Alligator Farm in Hesse, where he lived until his death in 2013.
- Animal stars like Sammy, Skippy the Kangaroo, Cow Yvonne, Swan Petra, and Brown Bear Bruno have captivated the public and made headlines, moving the nation and sometimes the world for weeks on end.
