Must watch: 8-foot alligator hisses as it's removed from North Philadelphia rowhome
PHILADELPHIA - A very unusual, and angry, resident just got evicted from their Philadelphia home Tuesday morning - an alligator!
Philadelphia Animal Control received the unexpected call to remove a 5-foot-long gator from the basement of a house in North Philadelphia.
To their surprise, they arrived to find an 8-foot-long gator instead!
"You're under arrest," a team of officers joked as video shows them pulling the gator from a pen, then holding it down as they tie its snout shut.
The gator, named "Big Mack" by ACCT Philly, has been raised in a padlocked pen since 2012, growing to be 8 feet long, 127 pounds.
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Officials say a divorce led to the animal's "surrender" after the owner's ex-wife said she no longer wanted it in the basement.
ACCT Philly is working to find a local home for "Big Mack," since its initial plan to fly him to Michigan was for a 5-foot-long gator.
No charges are currently being pursued against either owner in an effort to encourage people with exotic animals to "reach out and ask for assistance."
"We don't want people to hesitate to call us, and instead release animals like this," ACCT Philly said.
Just last month, a caiman found abandoned in FDR Park had to be euthanized.