Reptile & Amphibian Forums

KTRE (Lufkin, Texas) 21 December 06 Rare Alligator Missing From Ellen Trout Zoo (Larry Little)
Zoo Director Gorden Hendley says its possible someone may have climbed over a wall to steal endangered crocodilian that is small in size, but worth thousands of dollars. Thursday zoo workers spent most of the day searching for a missing rare Chinese Alligator. During a head count, workers noticed the alligator was missing. The staff at Ellen Trout Zoo in Lufkin reported the theft of a rare and valuable Chinese Alligator to Lufkin police.
It is believed the 3 foot Chinese Alligator was stolen from an open air exhibit at the zoo. The same open air exhibit contained four other alligators that were not taken.
According to Celia Falzone, the exhibit coordinator, the Chinese Alligator is one of the rarest alligators on earth.
The alligator is approximately 3 feet long and capable of causing great harm if it bites a person.
If you have any information about the missing Chinese Alligator, called the Lufkin Police Department at 936-633-0356.
Rare Alligator Missing From Ellen Trout Zoo

DAILY NEWS (Lufkin, Texas) 27 December 06 Zoo officials have 3rd theory on gator's disappearance - It's possible a bird of prey swooped in and snatched Chinese alligator from exhibit area, zookeeper says (Hina Alam)
Ellen Trout Zoo officials continue searching for possibilities to what happened to their Chinese alligator — Mr. Grumpy, as he was known to his keepers — that went missing last Thursday, and they have come up with a hypothesis that is far-fetched yet possible that could explain the reptile's disappearance.
Zoo Director Gordon Henley said there was a remote possibility that a bird of prey might have taken Mr. Grumpy away.
"It's unlikely because (the alligator) would have probably been in the water making it more difficult to catch," he said. "And the flight path is obstructed by branches."
It was most likely a red-tailed hawk or a great horned owl that took Mr. Grumpy, if it did, Henley said.
"I don't know (why it would have taken an alligator)," he said. The main food of these birds is rodents and snakes.
But this area does have lots of owls and hawks, Henley said.
Mr. Grumpy, a 7 1/2-year-old gator, weighed almost 6 pounds, only slightly more than average birds of prey can carry.
These alligators can live as long as 30 to 40 years.
To keep owls and night birds off the area, zoo officials have lights which point skyward. This helps disorient birds as they look down, Henley said. These lights have also now been put around the alligator exhibit.
The other possibilities of how Mr. Grumpy went missing are that it somehow got out of the exhibit or was stolen.
But there is no evidence of a break-in for the alligator to have been stolen, Henley said. While zoo officials are not ruling out Mr. Grumpy climbing out of its exhibit, they said, the exhibit showed no signs of an animal burrowing and getting through.
When asked if zoo officials were considering having a security guard, Henley said, such incidents occur even when there is a security guard.
"If the security guard was there, they would wait until the guards go by and do it ... Having a security guard is a plus, but I'm not sure if it would have stopped the incident."
Meanwhile, the lake which is one to eight feet in depth, has been spotlighted, Henley said.
"If it got into the lake, we can locate it and recapture it."
Chinese alligators are not as hardy as American alligators, Henley said.
"If someone else got it, its mannerisms, diet, space and enclosure are different. Someone not familiar might be unsuccessful (in keeping them alive)."
The value of Chinese alligators is between $15,000 and $100,000. They're so rare that you have to be part of a managed breeding program to get them, Henley said. There are fewer than 150 Chinese Alligators left in the wild, he said.
While this is the first time something like this has happened at the zoo, he said. people have killed an otter, a deer, a pea fowl and a goose.
"Almost all people who committed these acts have been captured," Henley said.
Meanwhile, Henley said, zoo officials will continue to spotlight the lake and take the boat out on warm days to look for Mr. Grumpy.

http://www.lufkindailynews.com/news/content/news/stories/2006/12/27/city/alligator.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=9