Alligator stolen from Texas Zoo 20 years ago returns home

The eight-foot alligator was returned to his home after Texas gamekeepers discovered he was illegally residing in a South Austin home.

Texas gamekeepers investigating a call to “hunt without the consent of the landowner” have discovered an alligator in a home in Caldwell County.

Investigators say the homeowner volunteered at the Animal World and Snake Farm Zoo in New Braunfels decades ago, brought home an egg or baby alligator and kept it as a pet for about 20 years.

Keepers say the people who owned the house took good care of the alligator, but they also made it clear that no one should keep an alligator as a pet.

The homeowner received two class C citations: one for possession of an alligator egg and one for possession of an alligator without proper permits.

An Instagram post from Texas Parks and Wildlife says, “Alligators are bad pets, y’all.”

The caretaker who discovered the alligator has been working with wildlife rehabilitators at Animal World & Snake Farm Zoo in New Braunfels to bring the alligator home.

The female alligator’s name was Teva.

The zoo is about 50 miles from home. A video posted on the zoo’s Facebook page shows Teva making her way through the pond. Jarrod Fortham posted on the zoo’s website that he would meet other alligators and live there for the rest of his life.

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The post Alligator stolen from Texas Zoo 20 years ago returns home

first appeared on Texas Standard News.

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