PORTLAND, Ore. — Police in Oregon have seized an alligator that had lived in the Beaver State as a family pet for more than a dozen years.
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That may raise some eyebrows, but the Oregon State Police's conclusion is that alligators are illegal in the state except in rare cases.
Police said it was a rescue operation rather than a seizure.
The reptile had been kept as a pet by a Springfield family for 13 years, according to a state police Instagram post. According to The Oregonian, it is prohibited outside of licensed wildlife rehabilitation centers and USDA-approved educational and research facilities.
The paper said the crocodile was in poor health and had not been kept in suitable conditions.
The reptile is one of four that the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife remembers seeing in the past six years, KOIN-TV reported.
“The alligator was transported to a facility approved by an Oregon Department of Agriculture veterinarian, where it will spend the remainder of its life,” state police wrote on Instagram.
According to the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute website, American alligators are typically found in slow-flowing rivers, swamps, wetlands, and lakes in southern states from North Carolina to the Rio Grande in Texas. .
According to The Oregonian, state police ended the Instagram post with humorous content.
Police ended their social media post on a lighter note. “Science Tip: You can tell an alligator from an alligator by paying attention to whether it sees you late or after a while #dadjokes.”
