A nearly 8-foot alligator, which had been stolen from a Texas zoo as a hatchling, was returned nearly 20 years later after a chance sighting led to the discovery that it had been living in a local woman’s backyard all this time.
Texas Game Wardens spokesperson Jen Shugert told News that a warden was interviewing neighbors while investigating a potential illegal hunting incident on an adjacent property when “she stumbled upon the alligator” in the woman’s backyard near Austin.
“Although there was a habitat in the backyard for the alligator, it had outgrown its pen because it was nearly 8 feet long,” Shugert told .
An employee from the Animal World & Snake Farm Zoo said in a video posted Friday that the woman had been volunteering at the zoo when, they believe, she stole an alligator egg or hatchling. He said that she had simply put the animal “in her pocket” and kept it as a pet for “at least 20 years.”
“Here in Texas, the position of alligators is really regulated and once Texas Parks and Wildlife found out that [the woman] had it and she was unable to meet the requirements to obtain these permits, they looked for someone who could take it in,” the employee said.
Texas Parks and Wildlife looked at the zoo located in New Braunfels, which the alligator named Tewa had originally been from, according to the video.
“We were able to go out and see this lady’s place about 50 miles from here, capture the alligator and bring her in [and] introduce her to the rest of our group out here where she’s going to live out the rest of her life,” the employee said.
A video posted on the Texas Parks and Wildlife social media pages showed the large alligator, whose mouth had been strapped for safety, being carried by zoo staffers into a truck full of hay. The video then cut to the alligator diving into the water at the alligator habitat at the zoo.
“A special thank you to the team at Animal World and Snake Farm for assisting with the recent alligator relocation in Central Texas,” the Texas Game Wardens said on Facebook. “With our combined knowledge and experience, the transition was seamless. Tewa is one happy in her new habitat!”
As for the woman who had stolen the animal, she had been cited with two misdemeanors: illegal possession of an alligator egg and possession of an alligator without the proper permits. Shugert told CNN that both these charges carry up to $500 in fines.
“Alligators don’t make good pets, y’all 🐊,” The Texas Parks and Wildlife reminded people in an Instagram post. On the agency’s website, the American Alligator is listed as a “protected game animal” in Texas, which means special permits are needed to “hunt, raise or possess” the animal.
The agency also noted that alligators can be commonly found in “swamps, rivers, bayous, and marshes” in the “eastern third of Texas.”