MIRACLE HOT SPRINGS, Idaho — Lurking in the heated waters of Miracle Hot Springs is an apex predator who has silently waited for her next meal for more than 20 years.
But don't worry — her name is Lola, and she prefers chicken legs.
WATCH: Lola, a 9-foot alligator, has lived in the geothermal waters of Idaho's Miracle Hot Springs for more than 20 years
Lola is a 9-foot alligator living at Miracle Hot Springs, and she's become a beloved fixture at the Idaho destination. When visitors learn she's real, owner Kalem Olsen said the reaction is often disbelief.
"They're like, 'No way! We thought it was totally this fake marketing ploy,'" Olsen said. "But no, we've got a real alligator here."
Olsen owns Miracle Hot Springs and the lovely Lola.
Olsen said Lola was his grandpa's idea, and it all stemmed from the local legend of Leo Ray, who in the 1970s and 1980s raised thousands of alligators for meat and hide sales in the geothermal heated waters of the Hagerman and 1000 Springs area.
"My grandpa at the time, who owned Miracle, knew that, and everyone in the valley kind of knew that there was this alligator farm, but no one could go visit those alligators," Olsen said. "So he thought, because everyone knows that there is alligators – we've got the same geothermal water – let's build our own alligator pin," Olsen said.
Born in 2000, Lola has been soaking it up at Miracle since 2003.
"We just have a little trickle of it going into her pen the whole time, especially in the winter," Olsen said. "And it's just working great for her. Keeps the water around 85 degrees and she loves it."
Olsen said visitors can stop by and see Lola anytime.
"She is a little hard to find sometimes, so don't throw anything in the pen, obviously, but during any of our business hours anyone is welcome to pull down into the parking lot and come take a look at her," Olsen said.
And if you're lucky, you might get to see feeding day.
Jeff Poulson is the Miracle maintenance manager and Lola's best friend.
"I'm food. If I come in here, she knows she's getting fed," Poulson said.
Poulson said Lola is fed about once a week during the summer and once a month during the winter. But he can tell when she's getting hungry.
"She'll tell you when she's hungry. She comes up to where she is right now. That's her feeding spot," Poulson said. "She's going to get mad at me because that's not a chicken leg. I just switched from chicken to beef."
With a few turtle and koi friends to keep her company, Lola was recently evaluated by a specialist from Utah this summer. Though slightly overweight, she received a clean bill of health.
"She'll probably outlive me," Olsen said. "They live to be about 90 plus in captivity. She might be written into my will."
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