In October 1996, a male alligator, in length, was removed from Mountain Lake by San Francisco Zoo associate curator John Aikin. The alligator, nicknamed "Golden Gator" by a reader poll in the "San Francisco Examiner" over other potential names such as "Van Nessie", "Presidio Domingo", "Purse Futura", "Boots", "Chewmanchew" and "Darth Gator", was first reported by a retired architect and birdwatcher, Dan Bushnell, in August 1996. Neighborhood rumors, which had been circulating for weeks by August, said the alligator was dumped by a former owner.