Chomper, the rescued Kiski River alligator, to serve as animal ambassador

The Kiski River alligator that led officials and volunteers on a weeklong search will call Pittsburgh home — for now.

The alligator was safely delivered Monday evening to an undisclosed alligator foster residence in Allegheny County. The location is kept secret to protect the people caring for the animal and the reptile, dubbed “Chomper” by the rescue team.

“Chomper is settling in very nicely, is not aggressive and is already accepting food, which indicates Chomper isn’t too stressed out or scared,” said Nathan Lysaght, founder and director of Nate’s Reptile Rescue, a Pittsburgh-based nonprofit that accepts animals whose owners no longer can care for them free of charge, no questions asked.

The alligator will be relocated from the foster arrangement to Nate’s in the coming week because Lysaght was out of town when the alligator was caught by two kayakers Sunday along the Kiski River.

The foster family provides Lysaght with multiple updates daily and, he said, the alligator is eating raw chicken, mice and rats. It is quarantined in a room with a portable water pool, a necessity for alligators.

“The water makes them feel safe, and they need to be in the water for their skin, to keep hydration levels up,” Lysaght said.

“Chomper appears healthy, and he is plump. Usually, when we get alligators, they can be a little underweight,” Lysaght said. “Chomper very well may have been living his life as a normal alligator on the Kiski River. The foster family said the alligator is super chill and doesn’t try to strike. That tells me he was definitely hand-raised, and they are very intelligent animals.”

“I’m getting calls and people want to visit Chomper,” Lysaght said. “He’s like a reptile rock star.”

He plans to take advantage of the alligator’s notoriety by using it as an animal ambassador.

“We do many educational programs from preschool through grade 12. Chomper will be used to show that while these animals may be cool, cute and intelligent — even dog-like — they do not make good pets for a multitude of reasons,” he said.

It will be the third in Nate’s Reptile Rescue’s ambassador lineup.

When the alligators at Nate’s grow to be about 6 feet, they are transported to a reptile sanctuary in Texas or Florida, Lysaght said. That means the alligator could have a two- to three-year career as an ambassador.

According to Lysaght, a healthy growth rate for alligators is 6 to 12 inches per year, and the average lifespan of a captive alligator is about 50 to 70 years.

“There aren’t many organizations that are able to assist with these animals — larger, more difficult species that people think will make good pets — so we have specifically dedicated resources to ensure that we can help with any animal, at any time,” he said.

Lysaght, 22, grew up in South Park and got his first reptile, a snake, when he was 4.

Lysaght cleared up a social media question: it is an American alligator. Lysaght said some people on social media were questioning whether it might be a caiman, a relative of the alligator.

The alligator’s sex remains undetermined.

Lysaght plans to take the gator to a veterinarian when he returns from out of state.