NACOGDOCHES, Texas – Just because it’s cute, doesn’t mean it would make a good pet.
It’s a sentiment Texas Game Wardens are sharing on social media after police in Nacogdoches found a baby alligator being kept in a 40-gallon aquarium last month.
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Nacogdoches police were at a local residence attending to a separate matter when an officer noticed the small reptile.
Officers then contacted Game Warden Sean Reneau who arrived at the home to talk to the homeowner about the baby alligator, which had suddenly disappeared from the tank during the officer’s investigation.
“They uncovered the hatchling a short time later in a blue tub hidden in the backyard,” TGW officials said in a Facebook post. “The owner then confessed to finding the alligator at a local river, picking it up and taking him home as a pet.”
Reneau said based on the size of the animal that it likely hatched a week or two prior and had only been in the possession of humans for a few days.
Reneau wrote the resident a citation for possession of an American alligator and then relocated the animal back to where it was found.
“In the early summer, hatchlings are easy to find and identify by their unique calls. That call isn’t for you, it’s for their mama. Please leave them be and let their mothers care for them,” Texas Game Warden officials said.