Police Rescue 25-Year-Old Alligator From Basement Of Ohio Home

Police have rescued a 25-year-old American alligator that was secretly being held in the basement of an Ohio home.

Madison Township police on Feb. 27 came to know about the reptile’s presence in the home in Groveport, according to a statement. They informed the Ohio Department of Agriculture which confirmed the residents didn’t hold an authorized permit for possessing exotic animals. The owners readily surrendered the alligator when the wildlife officials arrived to confiscate it.

The reptile was moved to an animal sanctuary. It was not immediately clear if the owners would be charged.

"Our 25-year-old scaly friend is retiring to an animal sanctuary in sunny Myrtle Beach, SC," police said. “There’s some things they just don’t teach you in the Police Academy,” they added.

Ohio animal welfare organizations asked the government to clamp down on the ownership of exotic animals back in 2011 following an unpleasant incident. The proprietor of a 73-acre exotic-animal farm near rural Zanesville freed over 50 animals in his captivity before shooting himself to death. Police fatally shot 49 of them, including 18 rare Bengal tigers, to prevent them from harming anyone and successfully captured six.

Ohio’s Dangerous Wild Animal Act now enables owners to obtain five types of permits in case they want to possess rare animals, such as Wildlife Shelter Permit, Wildlife Propagation Permit, Restricted Snake Possession Permit, Restricted Snake Propagation Permit, and Rescue Facility Permit, The Spruce reported last year.