Alligator Found In Ohio: Authorities Discover 25-Year-Old Reptile In Home Basement

Of all the things that can be found in a basement, authorities in the Columbus, Ohio, suburb of Groveport likely did not expect an adult American Alligator.

Responding to a tip from an unspecified source, officials from the Ohio Department of Agriculture found the 25-year-old reptile being kept by owners without an exotic pet license. The owners voluntarily surrendered the animal.

“There’s some things they just don’t teach you in the Police Academy,” the Madison Township Police Department said on Facebook. “State wildlife officials responded to the scene escorted by Commander Darrell Breneman, where the property owner voluntarily surrendered the animal… Our 25-year-old scaly friend is retiring to an animal sanctuary in sunny Myrtle Beach, SC. See ya later, alligator!”

The owners claimed that the alligator had lived with them its whole life. It was set up with a “tube-like structure” to live in.

“I’ve been a police officer 17-years, and I’ve never come across an alligator,” Breneman said.

American Alligators are native to several southern states along the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. They are the official state reptiles for Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi. The life expectancy for the species is 30-50 years but specimens kept in captivity are more likely to live to be 65-80 years old.