LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Conservation Officers captured a 3-foot-long alligator in an alley behind some houses in the Shawnee neighborhood on Tuesday.
Nathan Brooks, spokesperson for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, said Conservation Officers knocked on doors in the area in hopes of finding the owner.
Terrence Townsend gave WHAS11 a video and photos of the captured animal.
"Everyone's has been asking where it came from," Townsend said. "I would've named it Godzilla, I'm a huge fan. Oh, and we have no idea where it came from. The Fish and Wildlife officer showed us a trail in the grass, suggesting it came from the backyard area."
Brooks said Kentucky Fish and Wildlife will occasionally receive reports of both alligators and caimans in the state.
Brooks added importing dangerous animals is illegal, and that it's because of the potential transmission of diseases and the introduction of species that can harm Kentucky's inhabitants, both human and animals alike. State law also prohibits owning alligators and other exotic and dangerous animals.
"Alligators don't make good pets, as even a small one can injure a person," Brooks said. "When an alligator grows beyond a person's capacity to care for it, oftentimes it gets released into the wild, and then it becomes a potential danger to others."
Anyone with information is asked to text "TIP411" or call Kentucky State Police.
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