The 12-foot, 1,000 pound alligator is the focus of an intensive hunting expedition after Hurricane Ivan's fury sent him swimming from his confines at the Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo.
Before the storm, Chuckie was one of the zoo's most popular attractions and a favorite of children.
Now, with his first appearance on CNN swimming around an isolated, and newly created pond, he's become a media darling.
"When the zoo officials saw our tape, they said, 'That's Chuckie! You've found Chuckie,' " CNN's Gary Tuchman said.
Other national networks have mentioned Chuckie by name while warning of the danger such a large gator presents when on the loose.
Early Thursday, reporters were saying Chuckie would be hunted and killed, along with the rest of his former swamp-mates.
"He's unaccounted for at this moment. We cannot send people in to assess more of the damage [to the zoo] until we find the big boy," a zoo official said.
Gulf Shores Police Chief Arthur Bourne said his officers were too busy with "other more pressing matters" to look for Chuckie.
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