BIG Al is guaranteed to be the star attraction at Leather '93. After all, alligators 15 feet long are rare in Hongkong, even when stuffed.
On loan to the Southern United States Trade Association exhibition stand from his owner, restaurateur Mr Bob Guilbeau, Big Al is intended to put some teeth into SUSTA's education campaign about the US alligator hide industry.
While Big Al's role is to grab visitors' attention, and Mr Guilbeau's is to serve up alligator tail meat snacks, SUSTA's objective is the launch of a major promotion stressing the status and quality of the authentic American product.
Competition from caiman (Central and South American alligator) skins, high stock levels and consumer confusion over the legal status of alligator skins have cut prices paid to farmers and trappers in the US, hence the promotion.
SUSTA's story of the fearsome alligator notes that it is the only creature unchanged from the days of the dinosaur, 65 million years ago.
Ancient American Indians respected the alligator, but learned to hunt it, with rope and knife, for its near-indestructible skin and tasty meat. They knew precisely how big a beast to tackle - never larger than a lone hunter could carry.