Birding Center celebrates 57 years of Big Padre

By Alexandrea Bailey

This Saturday, reptilian Island icon, Big Padre, celebrates turning 57, and everyone is invited to attend his birthday bash.

The South Padre Island Birding, Nature Center & Alligator Sanctuary [SPIBNCAS] will be hosting Big Padre’s 57th Birthday on Saturday, Aug. 24, from 9 a.m. – 2 p.m.

According to Cristin Enholm, Executive Director of SPIBNCAS, the celebration will include educational activities, games, a pinata and a special feeding of Big Padre where everyone will be invited to sing Happy Birthday to the special guy. There will also be plenty of cake, cookies and punch for attendees to enjoy.  Enholm is most looking forward to attracting new visitors to the center and educating them on the wild alligators that inhabit the Laguna Madre.

Big Padre is the 12-foot-long primary educational alligator residing at SPIBNCAS. According to the center’s herpetologist, Jake Reinbolt, Big Padre is SPIBNCAS’s way of showcasing to the public firsthand the behaviors of the American Alligator.

Big Padre was caught in 2019 in Port Author, Texas, near a fish-cleaning station where he helped himself to fishermen’s scraps. When the fishing slowed down, according to Reinbolt, Big Padre had a problem with that and decided to try and climb on the back of somebody’s boat. It was decided then that something would have to be done. Lucky for Padre, he was granted the opportunity to live in a sanctuary. According to Reinbolt, the alternative wouldn’t have been as pretty. He could have easily met the same unfortunate fate many nuisance alligators do.

Once wild alligators are fed by humans, they become what is known as a nuisance alligator, meaning they identify humans as a food source. For many alligators, this is a death sentence, and that’s exactly why it is illegal to feed wild alligators in Texas. According to Reinbolt, feeding wild alligators puts both humans and alligators at risk.

Reinbolt says it is always fun to celebrate Big Padre’s birthday, but like Enholm, he appreciates the opportunity to educate the public on this amazing species, and how humans and alligators can live alongside each other in a healthy, peaceful fashion.

SPIBNCAS is located at 6801 Padre Blvd, South Padre Island.

Alexandrea Bailey is a young journalist residing in Laguna Vista. She moved to the Lower Laguna Madre in 2020 and hasn't look backed since. She is the editor for the Port Isabel South Padre Press, the South Padre Parade and the San Benito News. Outside of work, she performs with the El Paseo Arts Foundation and was selected to serve on their board. She aspires to be a voice for community members as well as shine a light on all the amazing things happening in our little corner of the Rio Grande Valley.

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