6-foot alligator removed from Massachusetts backyard

WEST SPRINGFIELD , Mass., Aug. 5 (UPI) -- Police in Massachusetts removed a large alligator from a backyard pen in Massachusetts on Thursday.

West Springfield Police Sergeant Nolan Ryan told the Boston Globe the gator, which measured about 6 feet long and weighed nearly 200 pounds, was being kept in a fenced-off area in a local backyard.

According to Mass Live, police received a call about an alligator being kept in the residential area on Main Street.

Capt. Michael Banas said police did not know the identity of the alligator's owner, or how long it had been living outside the home.

"That's not a baby alligator, that's a full-grown alligator. He has been there for a while," he said. "I don't know what they are feeding it, where they are keeping it, how they are keeping it warm in the winter."

The gator was taken to Springfield's Forest Park zoo where curator John Lewis said it would remain in an outdoor enclosure for the time being.

Lewis also said the alligator appeared to be healthy despite being slightly overweight.

Banas said the person who claimed to be the alligator's owner was not cooperative, and that the investigation was turned over to the Massachusetts Environmental Police, the law enforcement arm of the state's Department of Energy and Environmental Affairs.