DETROIT – Alligators live in the hot, swampy south: Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi. They can’t survive Michigan winters.
But every year, gators turn up (surprise!) in Michigan, where they’ve been found paddling along the Kalamazoo River, submerged in a backyard pond, confined in basements, wandering along parking lots and roads.
This is because Michigan is one of about 10 states where it is perfectly legal for anyone to buy or sell alligators. Some Michigan cities, including Detroit, have banned the sale of alligators, but the state has not. We have coverage on Metro Detroit alligator laws here.
The big reptiles are set loose in Michigan by people who thought having a young “pet” alligator was cool -- until that animal grew. Adult gators can get up to 15 feet and 1,000 pounds. An animal even half that size can tear up your house -- or you.
--> Read more: Baby alligators are being sold in Michigan, dumped or killed when they get too big
I had no problem finding young alligators for sale in Michigan, no questions asked. I found them for sale at a Kalamazoo reptile show, and at two pet stores. I found online ads by people selling them out of a Detroit basement, and a Mount Pleasant garage.
None of these people wanted to know what I planned to do once “my” gator grew big. No one even asked me whether I knew anything about alligators.
But I asked them all the same question: “How did you buy these alligators?”
“Shipped directly from Florida alligator breeders,” they all told me.
In Florida, gators are the official state reptile, they’re a university’s mascot. But if you want a “pet” alligator in Florida -- that state says, ‘Hold on, you’ll have to get a permit first.’
In Florida, you need to know what you’re doing and have a plan before you can own a reptile that grows into a large, dangerous animal and lives about 70 years.
Because of Florida’s law, alligator breeders there don’t have much of a market for selling the big reptiles in their own state. But they do have a market right here in Michigan, where the cycle of buying and dumping young alligators continues.
--> Read more: Going undercover to expose why abandoned alligators are being found around Metro Detroit
Previous coverage: Pet alligators are being shipped to sanctuary in Michigan when they grow too big, become dangerous