Can't make Mr. Bo Mangles' birthday? Catch Rocky Mountain Gators on Animal Planet

The only albino alligator in Colorado -- and it's pretty weird that there is even one -- celebrates his birthday tomorrow. Well, it's not really his birthday, but it is the first anniversary of his arrival at the Colorado Gators Reptile Park, a truly strange attraction just north of Alamosa...

By Jef Otte

February 18, 2011

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The only albino alligator in Colorado -- and it's pretty weird that there is even one -- celebrates his birthday tomorrow. Well, it's not really his birthday, but it is the first anniversary of his arrival at the Colorado Gators Reptile Park, a truly strange attraction just north of Alamosa that's home to about 300 alligators, which the park will also teach you to wrestle for $100 -- a pretty reasonable price to assure your place in the hall of badasses. At any rate, an even better price is free, and in celebration of Mr. Bo Mangles, that is how much it will cost you to get into the park tomorrow.

Of course, it's a pretty serious drive to get down there, and not everyone can probably make it. But if that's the case, you're still sort of in luck, because once upon a time, Animal Planet considered turning Colorado Gators into a reality series and even made a pilot of the show, called Rocky Mountain Gators.

The pilot originally aired on December 9 and then faded into the ether, presumably never to be seen again -- you can't even find a YouTube clip of it. For whatever reason, though, Animal Planet is re-airing the pilot a couple of times in the next couple of weeks -- albeit not exactly at peak viewing hours, but you can check it out: It airs once on Monday, February 21, at 10 a.m., and then again on Monday, February 28, at 5 a.m., right in between the Ronco paid programming slot and a very special presentation of Midnight Clown: Michael Myers vs. John Wayne Gacy.

It's a weird hour to be watching TV, but then again, it'll surely be weird TV to be watching.

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