SALT LAKE TRIBUNE (Utah) 29 July 08 Wildlife officials catch and euthanize S. Utah pond alligator (Steve Gehrke)
Locals had delighted in tall tales about the Virgin River alligator for years, but earlier this month, wildlife crews finally bagged the notorious monster in Hurricane.
The Division of Wildlife Resources caught a 3-foot-long American gator on July 1, after a family of fishers reported the unusual spectacle at Grandpa's Fishing Pond.
"The kids saw it, and it took them a while to convince their parents," said DWR Officer Pam Wheeler, who had never handled a gator but helped corral the sharp-toothed visitor with a net and some duct tape.
"Then it took the parents a while to convince who they called that there really was a gator there," Wheeler said during a Monday interview. "Occasionally people think they saw something, or they report tracks, but we've never confirmed one until now."
Wheeler said the highly unusual capture was the only gator that she or her co-workers had ever seen in the area. She noted, however, that officials often find pet turtles, tortoises, large frogs or exotic fish that have been released into the wild.
Like those pets, Wheeler speculated someone may have been keeping the alligator as a pet, but that it eventually outgrew its welcome.
"The [owner] probably thought they'd be kind by letting it go in a public pond," Wheeler said, adding that the gator could have caused bigger problems if it had continued to go unnoticed, since a full-grown alligator averages around 10 to 12 feet.
It is illegal to collect animals, like gators, from the wild, said Wheeler.
Lt. Scott Dalebout, of the DWR's southern regional office, said online sales of wild animals have been problematic in the past.
Dalebout said federal charges can be brought against people who move wild animals across state lines.
Officials took the alligator to the Division of Wildlife Resources Cedar City office, where they decided to euthanize it.
Said Wheeler: "It's pretty difficult to find a place for an animal like this. When it's going to be getting big and dangerous, it's not very likely we'll find a place."
Wildlife officials catch and euthanize S. Utah pond alligator