Alligator believed to have been stolen from a zoo more than 20 years ago returns to same zoo
An alligator believed to have been stolen from a Texas zoo more than 20 years ago has been returned to the zoo it was allegedly taken from.
Officials from Texas Parks and Wildlife contacted Animal World Snake Farm and Zoo, saying they found an alligator that had been in a former zoo volunteer's care for more than 20 years, a representative for the zoo said in a video on Facebook.
It is alleged that the volunteer stole either an egg or young alligator hatchling decades ago, put it in her pocket and kept it as a pet.
"Here in Texas, though, the possession of alligators is really regulated," the zoo official said. "And once Texas Parks and Wildlife found out that she had it and she was unable to meet the requirements to obtain these permits, they looked for someone who could take it in."
"Being that we are the rightful owners of that alligator, we were their first phone call," the official said.
Employees from the zoo, which is in New Braunfels near San Antonio, traveled about 50 miles to the woman's house to retrieve the alligator.
While alligators are often associated with or spotted in Florida, the animal does exist in about 120 counties in Texas, ranging from the Sabine River in East Texas to the Gulf of Mexico and in the coastal marshes to the Rio Grande, according to the Galveston government.
There are four types of alligator permits in the state of Texas: a farmer permit, which allows one or more alligators to live in captivity for commercial purposes, like selling alligator meat eggs and hides; an import permit, which allows a person to bring the animals and their eggs and parts into the state; and an export permit, which allows a person to remove an alligator from the state.
There is also a nuisance control permit, that allows people to remove nuisance alligators from properties. They must attend a training course first, but can process or sell alligators they catch.
In Florida this week, a man opened the door of his Daytona Beach home to find an alligator, which attacked him, police said, according to CBS Miami.
Last month, an 85-year-old woman in a Fort Pierce, Florida, retirement home was killed by a 10-foot alligator, according to officials.
Outside of Florida, a "very lethargic" abandoned alligator was found near a lake in Brooklyn's Prospect Park on Sunday. The 4-foot alligator was possibly suffering cold shock, local authorities said, since the species is used to tropical climates. It was captured and taken to the Bronx Zoo.
