A Detroit woman found an unexpected surprise after burying her son over the weekend: a large alligator in her son’s bedroom.
According to Mark Rosenthal of Animal Magic, the nearly six-foot alligator was discovered confined to a tiny aquarium, with no water, heat, light, or space.
Rosenthal, known locally as a “gator wrangler,” said the woman called him about the alligator Tuesday morning. He said he found the gator living in poor conditions.
“It had no room to move,” Rosenthal said. “I don’t know how it’s in this good of shape. It was in horrible conditions.”
The wildlife expert took the exotic animal to an animal sanctuary. The gator will become a Florida resident when it relocates to a multi-million-dollar sanctuary in a couple of weeks.
Rosenthal said the Animal Magic team receives more calls about alligators than any other animals in Michigan, despite it being both illegal and dangerous to keep them.
Given the circumstances, he gave his new friend a fitting name: “Navi-gator,” after it got lost in Detroit following the rescue.
A Pennsylvania man’s emotional support alligator made headlines after being spotted at a Walmart. The store has since banned the animal, but the owner says she’s welcome almost everywhere else.