Reptile Gardens in Rapid City, South Dakota, is dealing with an unexpected tragedy after a Friday morning fire destroyed a structure containing dozens of alligators and tortoises.
“We had around 80 to 90 animals inside, and they were all lost,” said John Brockelsby, who manages Reptile Gardens' public relations. “We had a huge outpouring of support from people that love Reptile Gardens, but we feel horrible.”
The fire was contained to a single off-exhibit structure, he said.
Orville and the other huge tortoises, giant crocodiles, and other of the attraction’s most popular animals are safe and sound for the final days before Reptile Gardens closes for the season Nov. 30.
“They're all fine,” Brockelsby said. “As a matter of fact, the business is up and running today and people are coming in.”
That includes Orville, the park’s oldest resident, a 120-year-old Aldabra tortoise who had a birthday party in June.
A 120-year-old tortoise named Orville, along with five other giants, survived a devastating fire at Reptile Gardens in South Dakota on Friday. About 80-90 other reptiles, including alligators and other tortoises were killed. (Rockerville Volunteer Fire Department) 
A 120-year-old tortoise named Orville, along with five other giants, survived a devastating fire at Reptile Gardens in South Dakota on Friday. About 80-90 other reptiles, including alligators and other tortoises were killed. (Reptile Gardens) 
A 120-year-old tortoise named Orville, along with five other giants, survived a devastating fire at Reptile Gardens in South Dakota on Friday. About 80-90 other reptiles, including alligators and other tortoises were killed. (Reptile Gardens)
What Was Lost
The fire was reported around 12:40 a.m. Friday, and the Rockerville Volunteer Fire Department responded to an active fire in a detached agricultural shelter that Brockelsby described as “an off-exhibit storage building.”
“It wasn’t a display building,” he said. “The public couldn’t go inside.”
Inside were several American alligators and a variety of tortoises, including African spurred giant tortoises and red-footed tortoises, that lived in the outdoor tortoise yard during the summer.
None of the animals inside the building survived the fire.
Brockelsby and general curator Terry Phillip both called the loss of these animals “very tragic.”
Accidental Arson?
Reptiles require a lot of energy and electricity to stay alive, especially in colder climates. The equipment that keeps tortoises and alligators alive has occasionally and unintentionally led to their demise.
In October, a 70-pound tortoise was rescued from a fire that started inside the Worland greenhouse it had been living in.
Chris Kocher, chief of the Worland Fire District, said the fire was started when the tortoise knocked over a heat lamp inside the greenhouse that was keeping the cold-blooded reptile alive.
“We respond to several calls a year caused by heating lamps as people try to keep their animals warm,” Kocher told Cowboy State Daily. “It brings attention to the fact that those lamps and cords need to be secured so animals can't knock them down and start fires.”
Tortoises might be perceived as slow and stupid, but they are actually very active, rambunctious, and destructive. Keeping them happy and healthy isn’t as easy as many people think.
The cause of the fire at Reptile Gardens has yet to be determined, but Brockelsby said the fire marshal’s initial assessment was that it was “something electrical.”
Brockelsby knows how active tortoises can be, but said they’ve never had incidents like the one in Worland.
“That’s never been a problem before, but it’s really hard to say what happened,” he said.
A 120-year-old tortoise named Orville, along with five other giants, survived a devastating fire at Reptile Gardens in South Dakota on Friday. About 80-90 other reptiles, including alligators and other tortoises were killed. (Reptile Gardens) 
A 120-year-old tortoise named Orville, along with five other giants, survived a devastating fire at Reptile Gardens in South Dakota on Friday. About 80-90 other reptiles, including alligators and other tortoises were killed. (Rockerville Volunteer Fire Department) 
A 120-year-old tortoise named Orville, along with five other giants, survived a devastating fire at Reptile Gardens in South Dakota on Friday. About 80-90 other reptiles, including alligators and other tortoises were killed.
Icons Are OK
While the loss of more than 80 alligators and tortoises is “devastating” for everyone at Reptile Gardens, the top-tier tortoises are perfectly fine.
Brockelsby confirmed that six of their Aldabra tortoises survived unscathed.
“We have three great big giants who have been here for decades, and we have three more are like teenagers,” Brockelsby said. "They were in a different building, and they’re all fine."
Aldabra tortoises, from the Seychelles Islands off the coast of Africa, are the second-largest tortoise species in the world. Orville, the oldest at Reptile Gardens, is over 120 years old.
Those tortoises are housed in the gigantic Sky Dome, the main attraction at Reptile Gardens that also houses Maniac, the giant saltwater crocodile, and the majority of the menagerie of reptiles, amphibians and birds.
That structure and its occupants weren't threatened by the Friday morning fire.
Reptile Gardens always closes at the end of November and is still planning to reopen Feb. 28, 2026. Brockelsby said the park will take the next few months to figure out how they want to move forward in the aftermath of the devastating fire.
“We’re not at the stage of figuring out if or how we want to replace those animals,” he said. “Our regular plan was to close at the end of November, and then we'll figure out what we're going to do for next year. But we’ll be open.”
Andrew Rossi can be reached at arossi@cowboystatedaily.com.
