Illegal Alligator Removed From Home In New York City Region

Officials removed an alligator from a home in New York State after a "friend" dropped it off and didn't return for a month.

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation recently confirmed in its Environmental Conservation Police on Patrol report that someone was keeping an alligator as a pet in the New York City area

Last month, ECO Rappold received a call from a Brooklyn resident who admitted to being in possession of an alligator.

The unnamed caller told officers a "friend" dropped off the alligator at the Brooklyn home one month ago and then never returned to pick up the alligator.

It's illegal to possess alligators as pets in New York without the proper permit, the DEC notes.

ECOs Rappold and Swart, along with investigators from the New York Police Department Animal Cruelty Investigation Squad, arrived at the caller's residence a few days later.

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Investigators arrived at the home and retrieved the small alligator. The gator appeared to be in good health.

The gator was then transferred to a certified herpetologist in Massachusetts.

There are a number of exotic animals you can legally own in New York State. See the full list below.