Was it the cheesesteaks? The hoagies? The vast selection of Italian “wutter” ices? Or maybe chewy soft pretzels topped with brown mustard?
Nope. Not one of the aforementioned four food groups representing the infamous Philadelphia diet enticed an alligator to the City of Brotherly Love over a decade ago.
But on Tuesday morning, 8-foot-long, 127-pound “Big Mack” was finally removed from its basement pen in a north Philly row home where the gator had been kept since 2012, WTXF-TV reported.
Say what?
The city’s Animal Care & Control Team got a “surrender” call to remove the alligator, but the description was of a 5-foot-long gator, not an 8-foot-long model, the station said.
Here’s a look at how it all went down:
“You’re under arrest,” one of four animal control officers quipped as Big Mack’s front arms were bound after the gator’s jaws were taped shut for his departure.
It took a small village to carry the gator out:
According to WTXF, officials said the couple who’d been keeping the gator is splitting up, and the owner’s ex said she no longer wanted Big Mack in the basement.
Now what?
Animal control officials told the station they’re trying to find a local sanctuary for Big Mack, and one in Pennsylvania seems promising, but folks there have to make sure they have big enough enclosures. There’s also a Michigan sanctuary that would take the gator, but it turns out it’s not easy to find a plane willing to transport an 8-footer, WTXF added.
The station said no charges are being pursued against the gator’s former owners so that others keeping exotic animals will be more likely to “reach out and ask for assistance” — as opposed to just releasing them.
WTXF said a caiman — a smaller cousin to the American alligator — was last month found abandoned in FDR Park and had to be euthanized.
8-foot alligator removed from basement of Philadelphia homeyoutu.be
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!