2nd Alligator Found In L.A. Backyard In A Week
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Los Angeles is starting to look like the Everglades.
Officials said Thursday that a second pet alligator has turned up in a homeowner's back yard this week.
An 8-foot critter, a 27-year-old female named Jaxson, was found living in the back yard of a Van Nuys home on Monday.
Animal Control officers from the Los Angeles Animal Services Department on Thursday responded to the 15300 Block of Lassen Street after receiving information of an alligator abandoned in the rear yard of a home in North Hills.
The property had been posted with an eviction notice.
Authorities said they found an approximately 2½-foot-long alligator in a large aquarium at the rear of the property. Officers impounded the alligator without incident.
The owner could not be confirmed and is now being sought for questioning.
The alligator is being held as evidence at the West Valley Animal Shelter.
Los Angeles Zoo personnel are assisting with the care of the alligator, officials said.
It is illegal to keep wildlife without a permit in Los Angeles. Animal Services is conducting a full criminal investigation that may be presented to the City Attorney's Office for prosecution.
This case does not appear to be related to the gator seized Monday.
If anyone has any information regarding the alligator seized Thursday or knows who the owner may be, you're asked to call Cmdr. Mark Salazar at (818) 482-7455.
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