Watch the video of an alligator illegally living inside a shipping container
Oct 26, 2022, 1:42 PM
Photo from the Pierce County Sheriff's Office
It’s not every day you hear about an alligator living in the Northwest, but that’s what Pierce County Animal Control found in a storage container at a property in Lake Bay.
Animal control had a prior complaint of a man living on a friend’s property in Lakebay with an alligator, but when they went to investigate, they couldn’t find the alligator on the property.
History, controversy, and mystery at Seattle Pet Cemetery
Animal control officers returned on Oct. 20, alongside Pierce County Sheriff’s deputies, where they found the alligator kept inside a small tub inside a shipping container.
Inside the shipping container, deputies also found a sick calf and a mattress for the owner of the animals. Deputies said a man built a pool for the gator and put up a gate for a calf also living in the container.
Deputies came back to the property the next day with a warrant, seized the alligator, and checked on the sick calf, which they had ordered the man to take to a veterinarian.
The Sheriff’s Department said the calf and owner were not there at the time, but the alligator was left behind.
It is illegal to keep alligators in Washington State.
In a video from the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office, animal control officers can be seen retrieving the reptile, nicknamed Al, out of his tub and holding him down while a deputy helped tape his mouth close.
The six-foot-seven-inch alligator was taken to The Humane Society for Tacoma & Pierce County, a wildlife rehabilitation center. Deputies said the gator was in good health, but it will now live in a large habitat instead of being confined to a small container.
Pierce County Animal Control and Deputies wrangle alligator from a storage container in Lakebay, WA.
PCSD BLOTTERhttps://t.co/MY9tEoZMDU pic.twitter.com/7zVieLLidK
— Pierce Co Sheriff (@PierceSheriff) October 26, 2022
Investigators are looking for the 32-year-old man to determine if the calf was taken care of. The man might face a civil fine.
