FL Mans Saves Baby Alligator, Then His Wife Gets Him Arrested
What is it with people and alligators? Seriously. There's been another alligator arrest.
This time, Alexander Springer of Citra, Fla., was hauled in and charged with illegal possession of an alligator -- a second degree misdemeanor. He had no permit.
What he did have was an angry wife. She's the one who called police after he refused to remove the baby alligator from the spare bathtub.
In fact, Springer's wife called police reporting a domestic disturbance. When officers found no evidence of violence, the Ocala Star-Banner reports they were shown to the tub.
They found a baby alligator swimming happily, surrounded by branches and tree limbs.
Alexander Springer told the paper he found the "dehydrated" alligator on the side of the road. He brought it home to nurse it back to health. But his wife told WESH-TV that he had no plans to release it, and had actually built an enclosure in the backyard.
Police then checked with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, and an employee told officers to make an alligator arrest.
If you can't tell what's utterly wrong with this story, let me break it down:
- Alligators are not pets. They can kill you.
- Injured animals should be reported to local wildlife authorities -- not put in your bathtub.
- It's not legal to falsely report a domestic disturbance when your husband's being ridiculous. Be honest -- tell police he's got an alligator in the tub.
But even if Alexander Springer's wife told a little lie, she managed to get her wish. The alligator has been removed from the tub, and her husband will probably think twice before crossing her again.
Related Resources:
- Discovery of an alligator in a bathtub leads to a Florida man's arrest(WPTV)
- 260 Baby Alligators Found on Airboat by Florida Police (FindLaw's Legally Weird)
- Man Kept Illegal Pet Alligator Because 'Chicks Dig It' (FindLaw's Legally Weird)