Wilson Riddle in Detroit, Michigan, called police after seeing two alligators on
the loose in his apartment building a few days ago. The police were
able to apprehend one of the two foot long fugitives and
placed it in
Juvenile Alligator (Public Domain Image) a box. The other eluded capture and is still on the loose
and is presumed to have taken refuge in the Detroit River.
Riddle was able to capture the one reptile with a fishing net and the lure of a can of sardines. The captured gator entertained the neighbors before police were able to take it to the Belle Isle Conservancy and later to Great Lakes Reptiles. The store doesn't sell alligators, but will sometimes take them in when someone has one they don't want. The owner explained that if he doesn't then people are likely to just let them go. He kept the gator just a day before turning it over to someone who ships such strays to places like reptile farms in Florida. The Detroit Zoo does not take in unwanted exotic pets.
The missing gator will survive just fine, for now. Once cold weather sets in it will not be able to handle to cold temperatures. Police do not know where the gators came from.
Source: MLive, Edmonton Journal
