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Young gator that invaded Reston held by official
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Animal caretaker supervisor Patricia Rockefeller holds the 2.5-foot-long, 5-pound alligator that was caught Monday in Reston. The alligator is currently living in Rockefeller’s bathtub.
Reston (Map, News) - A young alligator wandering in the Reston area Monday night provoked a brief scare.
Animal control specialists rounded up the 2.5-foot-long reptile on the 1800 block of Dasher Lane. They then wrestled with where to put it.
The reptile has taken up temporary residence in the bathtub of animal caretaker supervisor Patricia Rockefeller, who said she would watch the “docile, extremely stressed-out” youngster until the county can transfer it to an animal park today.
“He’s going to my house and then to the Luray Zoo,” Rockefeller said. “Because he’s only 5 pounds, it’s not a large problem.”
When unregistered owners tire of their illegal and exotic animals, zoo owner Mark Kilby said, Northern Virginia counties ask him what to do.
American alligators can be bought on the Internet and in states including Pennsylvania, but they have been illegal in Virginia since 1991, except for educational purposes, Kilby said.
This is the first sighting of its kind in Fairfax County since animal control had to swoop a pair of alligators, including a 6-footer, out of a lake two years ago, Rockefeller said.
The alligator doesn’t have a name, in part because they don’t know whether it is a boy or a girl. Besides, officials don’t want to encourage residents to keep the critters.
“This is really not a pet,” Rockefeller said. “That’s the big thing people need to know.”
dgenz@dcexaminer.com
Comments from Examiner Readers
2:12 PM MST on Thu., May. 3, 2007 re: "Montgomery seeks civilian as new animal services chief"
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Examiner Reader said:
This move is long overdue. Our animals deserve a "committed expert."
123 agree | 129 disagree
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