A dog walker caught an alligator in rural Idaho

CNN
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A person walking their dog in rural Idaho was quite surprised when they encountered an alligator, hundreds of miles from the coast where reptiles are usually found.

Fish and Game Officer Brian Marek received a call Thursday night from a person walking his dog in New Plymouth, Idaho, according to a statement from the Department of Fish and Game. Idaho.

« They spotted something moving in the brush and discovered the 3.5-foot alligator, » the department said in the statement.

The resident apparently captured the alligator, put it in a horse trailer and called the department, who picked it up the next morning and moved it to a fish and game facility where it is currently being housed. , according to the press release.

The agency said it is investigating the alligator’s origins and urged anyone with information to contact the Southwest Idaho Fish and Game Regional Office.

« In all likelihood, this alligator has become detached from someone, and we are interested in finding the owner, » regional conservation manager Matt O’Connell said in the statement.

It is illegal to own alligators without a license in Idaho or to release captive crocodilians — the family to which alligators belong — into the wild, according to the statement.

Adult alligators can grow to around 8 to 11 feet in length on average. Large reptiles tend to be found on the eastern and gulf coasts, as far north as North Carolina and as far west as eastern Texas. Florida and Louisiana have the two highest alligator populations in the country, with more than one million living in each state, according to Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries.

The species is not found in the wild in Idaho, according to the Idaho Department of Fish and Game website.

New Plymouth is about 50 miles northwest of Boise, Idaho and has fewer than 2,000 residents.