ORLANDO, Fla. – An alligator taken from the wild was found being kept in the garage of an Orange County home earlier this month, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
On Oct. 3, an FWC officer responded to the home along Limewood Lane believing someone there was in possession of an American alligator, soon meeting with the homeowner’s son. The son opened the garage door, behind which the officer observed a 35-gallon aquarium containing an alligator about 3.5 feet long, according to an FWC incident report. The report noted that the enclosure did not meet caging requirements for possession of an alligator regardless.
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The officer asked where the alligator had come from, at which point the son said he didn’t want to get involved and had his dad call the officer.
The dad told the officer that he had picked up the alligator on Sept. 23 while working, having seen it crossing the road. He claimed he was going to take it to Gatorland within the week.
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The officer noted no one at the residence had a permit for the wild-caught alligator. The alligator was seized and later released into Lake Apopka, the report states.
The dad was charged with unlawful possession of an alligator and with a nonnative and captive wildlife penalty involving his lack of a gator license, according to the report.
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