Image source: Twitter video screenshot via @KeeleyFox29
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Was it the cheesesteaks? The hoagies? The vast selection of Italian "wutter" ices? Or maybe chewy soft pretzels topped with brown mustard?
Nope. Not one of the aforementioned four food groups representing the infamous Philadelphia diet enticed an alligator to the City of Brotherly Love over a decade ago.
But on Tuesday morning, 8-foot-long, 127-pound "Big Mack" was finally removed from its basement pen in a north Philly row home where the gator had been kept since 2012, WTXF-TV reported.
Say what?
The city's Animal Care & Control Team got a "surrender" call to remove the alligator, but the description was of a 5-foot-long gator, not an 8-foot-long model, the station said.
Here's a look at how it all went down:
\u201cWATCH: 8 foot long alligator taken out of North Philadelphia rowhouse. 1/3\u201d— Steve Keeley (@Steve Keeley) 1681821002
\u201c2/3. LISTEN: 8-foot long Philadelphia alligator hisses at Philly Animal Control officers as several hold down the gator while another officer attempts to tie his snout shut.\u201d— Steve Keeley (@Steve Keeley) 1681821298
"You're under arrest," one of four animal control officers quipped as Big Mack's front arms were bound after the gator's jaws were taped shut for his departure.
\u201c3/3 \u201cYou\u2019re under arrest!\u201d Philadelphia Animal Control officer jokes to alligator. Team of officers needed for latest \u201csurrender.\u201d Male owner divorced wife & his now ex-wife wanted his gator out of the basement. It was raised in a pen that expanded as gator grew to 8 feet.\u201d— Steve Keeley (@Steve Keeley) 1681821538
It took a small village to carry the gator out:
\u201cHow hard is it to remove an 8 foot long, 127 pound angry alligator out of a tight space basement in a Philadelphia rowhouse? It took three strong Animal Control Officers to bring him out to their truck he barely fit inside. They were told he was just 5 feet when the call came in.\u201d— Steve Keeley (@Steve Keeley) 1681829397
According to WTXF, officials said the couple who'd been keeping the gator is splitting up, and the owner's ex said she no longer wanted Big Mack in the basement.
\u201cACCT Philly needs a 6 foot crate to curl \u2018Big Mack\u2019&his tail in so he can be put on small plane&flown to Alligator Sanctuary in Michigan that is now willing to take Big Mack. He\u2019s large dog pen here hoping to fly him there ASAP. He weighs 127 pounds.Grew from baby 12 years ago.\u201d— Steve Keeley (@Steve Keeley) 1681824268
Now what?
Animal control officials told the station they're trying to find a local sanctuary for Big Mack, and one in Pennsylvania seems promising, but folks there have to make sure they have big enough enclosures. There's also a Michigan sanctuary that would take the gator, but it turns out it's not easy to find a plane willing to transport an 8-footer, WTXF added.
The station said no charges are being pursued against the gator's former owners so that others keeping exotic animals will be more likely to "reach out and ask for assistance" — as opposed to just releasing them.
WTXF said a caiman — a smaller cousin to the American alligator — was last month found abandoned in FDR Park and had to be euthanized.
8-foot alligator removed from basement of Philadelphia homeyoutu.be
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Sr. Editor, News
Dave Urbanski is a senior editor for Blaze News.
DaveVUrbanski
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