MIAMI, Aug. 10 (UPI) -- Representatives for Jungle Island theme park say Hank the crocosaurus, one of the Miami site's most popular attractions, has died at the age of 47.
Jungle Island spokesman Steven Levine said the 2,000-pound crocodile was discovered motionless Saturday at the Watson Island tourist site it called home since 2002, The Miami Herald reported Sunday.
Hank, whose parents were an Asian crocodile and a saltwater crocodile, spent much of his time at Jungle Island with a small turtle named Frank, Levine said.
Frank, a 5-pound turtle that measured only 15 inches in length, somehow entered Hank's Jungle Island habitat nearly three years ago and a friendship was born. Levine said Frank was routinely seen riding on Hank's snout, clearing away algae from the large crocodile.
"People used to be scared he would eat the turtle,'' Levine's fellow Jungle Island representative, Brigette Grosjean, said. "But he never did."
The Herald said the crocosaurus will be preserved and displayed at Jungle Island once veterinarians are able to determine what caused the animal's death.
