An American alligator that's nearly 6 feet long was turned over to animal caretakers on Long Island on Tuesday by its owner, the Suffolk County SPCA said.
"Rocky" the alligator was given to the SPCA by Andre Ricaud, who said that the reptile had grown too big for him to handle. Ricaud is licensed to possess the animal and used it to teach children as part of Party Pets of New York, which he founded in 1989.
Ricaud owned Rocky for 17 years and said he got the gator when he was about a foot long. But over time Rocky got bigger and bigger.
"I just felt it was time for him to go," Ricaud said in a YouTube video. "American alligators do not make good pets."
The SPCA turned Rocky over to Michael Ralbovsky of the Rainforest Reptile Sanctuary in Massachusetts.
This isn't the first time an alligator showed up on Long Island. Sightings are pretty common, especially in the summertime. They're usually turned in by their owners or found roaming around near water.
A 3-foot-long pet alligator living in a home on Long Island was turned over to the SPCA in March. More than a dozen of the creatures were found on Long Island in 2013.
U.S. & World
It is illegal to own an alligator in New York state without a license and people who keep the animals as pets could be fined.
