An alligator was found in rural Idaho. Fish and Game wants to know how it got there
Officials with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game are asking for the public’s help after an unusual animal was found in rural Idaho.
Southwest Region spokesperson Brian Pearson told the Idaho Statesman in an email that a New Plymouth resident noticed something moving in the brush while walking their dog Thursday night off of SE 1st Avenue. When the resident investigated further, they found a 3.5-foot alligator — a creature that’s decidedly not native to Idaho.
Pearson said the resident put the alligator in a nearby horse trailer until Friday morning, when Fish and Game conservation officer Brian Marek came to pick it up. Fish and Game has the alligator in captivity for now, but Pearson said that if no one comes forward as the owner, it will be euthanized or given to a licensed facility.
The animal’s origins are unknown, according to Pearson. He said Fish and Game is investigating where it may have come from, and asked anyone with more information on the animal to contact the Southwest regional office at 208-465-8465.
It’s not the first time Fish and Game has had to capture an alligator. In 2020, the agency worked with police to corral a 6-foot alligator that had escaped from a temporary enclosure at the Idaho Reptile Zoo in Nampa. The gator had wandered about half a mile from the zoo when it was captured.
The Idaho State Department of Agriculture requires anyone who owns “deleterious exotic animals” to have a special permit.
This story was originally published October 21, 2022 at 2:03 PM.
