Abandoned illegitimate alligator found in New Jersey

A juvenile alligator was discovered in a vacant lot in New Jersey over the weekend, sparking speculation about how the gnarled reptile ended up abandoned in Garden State.

A young alligator was found in a vacant lot in Neptune late Sunday after a local resident spotted a mysterious container near his home, the Monmouth County Animal Welfare Authority confirmed Tuesday in a Facebook post.

“The young alligator was returned to the shelter and given a clean aquarium with proper air circulation and is kept in a climate controlled facility. In the near future, the alligator will be transferred to the New Jersey Fish and Wildlife Administration, ”the agency said.

Photos accompanying the post show the alligator resting in its new enclosure and in the arms of a SPCA specialist.

“It is illegal for New Jersey residents to keep alligators or caimans that are considered potentially dangerous exotic species,” MCSPCA Executive Director Ross Lycitra said in a statement.

“Not only is this a danger to society, but also that these captive animals need special care that only professionals can provide.”

American alligators, which can grow up to 15 feet in length and weigh up to 1,000 pounds as adults, are typically found in the Deep South. Commenters on the original Facebook post offered theories about how the alligator ended up in the northeast.

“Some irresponsible person took this poor creature and then realized that he could no longer properly care for him, so he threw him out into the cold,” one of them wrote.

“What is wrong with people. If you can’t handle you [sic] animals do not just leave them on the side of the road,” complained another.

The New Jersey alligator isn’t the only scaly creature making headlines in strange places. Last month, a Wisconsin cat owner was shocked when his cat dragged an entire alligator skull into the yard.

“He was very proud of himself,” owner Wendy Wiesehugel told the media at the time of her four-legged friend Bernt Tost.