Pet Alligator Seized from Longview Home By Animal Control

Some folks like to raise some pretty exotic pets, including snakes, lizards and maybe even a deer or raccoon or two in these parts.

An alligator? Not so much, but that's exactly what happened in Longview this week.

Longview Animal Control took custody of a three-foot American alligator from a person's home Monday, and officials estimate the gator is between 1 and 2 years old.

"I would say this is not something I see everyday,” Gregg County Game Warden Todd Long told the Longview News-Journal. “I’d say alligators in Longview are a pretty rare call. ... “He appears pretty healthy and taken care of but without the proper permits, we seized the animal. We will take him to a free-ranging place so he can be with other alligators.”

The owner has not been identified, though since they did not have a proper permit to care for the alligator in captivity, they will face multiple citations and a fine up to $500.

You wouldn't catch me touching that gator, but that picture's kind of cute, right?

[h/t Longview News-Journal]