Over the weekend, a juvenile alligator was discovered in a plastic container in an empty lot in Neptune, a township in Monmouth County, New Jersey. The gator was abandoned next to the home of a resident, who discovered the mysterious container and called MCSPCA Animal Control.
Animal Control officers took the gator to the shelter and put it in a clean tank that allowed proper air circulation. The shelter confirmed on Tuesday that the alligator, which is being kept in a climate-controlled area, will soon be transferred to the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife.
According to Ross Licitra, the executive director of the MCSPCA, New Jersey residents are by law not permitted to keep alligators or caimans as pets in the Garden State. In New Jersey, gators are deemed potentially dangerous exotic species and pose a potential danger to the public. Moreover, gators, when kept in captivity, require very specific care that only professionals can provide.
The discovery prompted speculation about how the gator ended up abandoned in New Jersey. In addition, the MCSPCA Humane Law Enforcement Division is asking anyone with information about who may have abandoned the gator to contact Mike Goldfarb, MCSPCA Humane Law Enforcement Chief, at 732-440-1539.
Meanwhile, MCSPCA gladly says the gator was picked up and will be heading over to Cape May Zoo in Middle Township, New Jersey.
Some commenters on the original Facebook post said the poor alligator could have frozen to death, Considering the temperature the night the animal was dumped.
