Motorist Ties Up Gator in Boston, as Officials in Chicago, NYC & Md. Capture 4 More This Month
It’s illegal in a number of jurisdictions to have an alligator–or any other wild animal–as a pet, at least without a permit. But unless there’s some truth to the urban legend that some of the heat-loving reptiles are living in urban sewer systems it appears that individuals in at least three northern cities plus suburban Maryland may have violated the ban.
A volunteer wrangler in Chicago captured a gator today, reports the Chicago Tribune. It was his second this month.
Meanwhile, a firefighter driving to work in Brockton, Mass., grabbed a gator there on Sunday. He used a bungee cord to tie the three-foot reptile to a ring in his pickup bed, after he spotted it crossing the street wearing a studded collar, according to the Boston Herald.
A small gator was also rescued by New York City police in Queens on Sunday as the animal tried to hide beneath a car, reports the New York Daily News.
Early this month, officials in Anne Arundel County in Maryland captured yet another gator as it was swimming in the Patapsco River, reports WJZ.
It appears that at least some of the five reptiles were being illegally kept as pets. Their owners, if any, aren’t known and the articles don’t say what the legal consequences would be if they could be identified.
Related coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Python Ban Planned to Address Giant Snake ‘Invasion’ in US”
