Alligator, baby cow found living in shipping container

PIERCE COUNTY, Wash. — Deputies in Washington state had a wild time as they worked to take an alligator more than 6 feet long into custody.

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The Pierce County Sheriff’s Office shared video of deputies wrangling the massive reptile on its Facebook page, saying “No, it’s not the new singing crocodile movie and it’s not the Discovery Channel.”

Pierce County Animal Control had received a complaint about someone owning an alligator, but when investigators first went to the scene, no animal was found. When animal control returned on Oct. 20, officers found the alligator “which was being stored in a small tub inside of a shipping container.”

Investigators said along with the alligator inside the shipping container were an ill calf and a mattress where the owner slept with the animals, KIRO reported.

Animal control officers returned on Oct. 21 with a warrant to seize the alligator and check on the calf, but said that the calf and its owner had disappeared.

Officers were able to remove the reptile from its tub, and while an animal control officer held the animal down, a deputy helped to tape its mouth closed, KIRO reported.

A video shared to the sheriff’s department Facebook page shows the deputies using a Mega Mover to get the 6 foot, 7 inch alligator into the animal control vehicle.

The alligator was moved to a rehabilitation sanctuary. Deputies said that the animal was in good health, and will now live in a large habitat instead of a small container, KIRO reported.

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