7-Foot Alligator Found in American River Puzzles Officials as It's Unlikely to Survive in the Area; How Did the Reptile End Up There?

A huge alligator was rescued in the American River. However, California officials were wondering how it ended up in the area where it was unlikely to survive.

Alligator in the American River

It's unlikely to see alligators in the American River at Sailor Bar in Fair Oaks, a suburb of Sacramento. However, one was found in the area.

According to the Wildlife Care Association (WCA), they heard about the reptile last week from a man who told them that he was trying to help out a neighbor. Sandra Foreman, the facility manager at the Wildlife Care Association, was told that the man was fishing at Sailor Bar and noticed an alligator on the rocks. The man went there with his trailer, jumped on the beast, and taped its mouth before placing it in the trailer.

Foreman wasn't convinced that the alligator had been living in the American River for a long time. According to her, the cold water would be challenging for the reptile. She believed the alligator would struggle to survive in the area, ABC10 reported.

Although the association looks after lost or injured wildlife, it is not equipped to deal with such a massive beast. So, they turned over the reptile to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW).

The alligator was taken to the Bay Area facility. Unfortunately, it died hours later, according to department spokesman Patrick Foy, Yahoo! News reported.

Foy said the gator was in "extremely poor health." So, they opened an investigation as to where the gator came from.

ALSO READ: 7-Foot Alligator Raised as Pet by a Texas Woman for Over 20 Years

How Did the Alligator End Up in the American River?

A foreman from WCA speculated that someone kept the reptile as a pet and dumped it when it got too big to handle. According to her, CDFW will investigate as they have been tipped off about an alligator in the Sacramento area.

Foreman believed that the organization was already working to confirm if the reported alligator and the one they found were the same.

Foy confirmed that they had opened an investigation to find out where the alligator came from. According to him, officials suspect someone illegally raised it as a pet and abandoned it.

Foy said people acquire young alligators and abandon them when they grow too large to handle. They reportedly see one or two cases annually.

He added that it's not common but not uncommon, adding that the alligator could not survive the chilly American River.

"That's almost a death sentence," Foy said.

Owning an alligator as a pet is illegal in California. In related news, a woman from Texas confessed to stealing a gator egg and raising the reptile for 20 years.

However, since she didn't have a proper permit, the 8-foot alligator was taken from her and returned to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and Animal World & Snake Farm Zoo.

The woman was cited with two misdemeanors carrying a $500 fine each.

Experts discouraged people from taking alligators as pets because they are terrible and don't return affection like cats and dogs.