Police Search for Owner of 5-Foot Pet Gator

The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission is looking for the owner of a 5-foot alligator found in by some men fishing in central Pennsylvania over the weekend.

Officials suspect the alligator was a pet released into the wild by its owner, after the animal became too large to care for at home.

The state doesn't regulate whether people can keep alligators as pets, but it is illegal to release them into the wild.

The Altoona Mirror reports the animal was and caught near Shade Gap, Huntingdon County. It's being cared for at a wildlife refuge in Port Matilda, in neighboring Centre County.

Fish and Boat Commission Capt. Alan Robinson says abandoned alligators are often donated to zoos. The commission deals with about a dozen abandoned alligators in the state each year.

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