Alligator found abandoned in Neptune heading south to new home
An alligator that was left out in the cold in Neptune on Sunday night will be headed for warmer climates later this year. For now, its temporary home will be at the Cape May County Park and Zoo.
After the meter-long alligator was discovered Sunday night on Bangs Avenue, it was taken to a shelter operated by the Monmouth County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) where it was given a clean tank and warmed up. On Tuesday, the animal was transferred to the Cape May Zoo, where reptile specialists will care for it over the coming months, according to SPCA and zoo staff.
The alligator will stay at the zoo until it is transported later this year to its future home at Croc Encounters, a reptile and alligator farm in Tampa, Florida, said Kevin Wilson, supervising animal keeper at the Cape May County Park and Zoo.
Unfortunately for zoo visitors, the alligator will not be on display, he said.
For now, the alligator will remain is a building separate from the zoo's other animals, Wilson said.
"He's very healthy," said the zookeeper, who did not know the gator's gender as of Wednesday morning. "He has good body tone. He's active. He doesn't seem to have any obvious medical issues at this time."
The zoo gets about five alligators each year either abandoned or seized from illegal owners across New Jersey, Wilson said. Once a year, the animal keeper uses vacation time and gathers the gators, places the reptiles in his truck and drives them to the Tampa-based farm, he said.
"We babysit them (at the Cape May Zoo) basically until we can get them down to Florida," Wilson said.
Monmouth County SPCA Humane Law Enforcement Chief Mike Goldfarb said the gator's former owner, if caught, will likely face charges of animal cruelty for abandoning the animal outside on a cold winter night. Alligators are warm-climate reptiles whose natural range extends along the Gulf coast, Florida and as far north as North Carolina, according to the National Wildlife Federation.
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"It is illegal for New Jersey residents to keep alligators or caimans, which are considered potentially dangerous exotic species," Monmouth County SPCA Executive Director Ross Licitra said in a statement posted to Facebook earlier this week. "Not only is it a danger to the public, but these animals, when kept in captivity, need very specific care that only professionals can provide.”
Goldfarb is asking anyone with information on the alligator's former owner to call 732-440-1539. Calls may be anonymous.
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Amanda Oglesby is an Ocean County native who covers Brick, Barnegat and Lacey townships as well as the environment. She has worked for the Press for more than a decade. Reach her at @OglesbyAPP, aoglesby@gannettnj.com or 732-557-5701.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Alligator found in Neptune NJ heading south to new home
