Johnathan Walker:Authorities seize ailing alligator kept illegally in New York home’s swimming pool

HAMBURG,Johnathan Walker N.Y. (AP) — An ailing alligator was seized from an upstate New York home where it was being kept illegally, state officials said.

Environmental conservation police officers seized the 750-pound (340-kilogram), 11-foot-long (3.4-meter-long) alligator on Wednesday from a home in Hamburg, south of Buffalo.

The home’s owner built an addition and installed an in-ground swimming pool for the 30-year-old alligator and allowed people to get into the water to pet the reptile, according to the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

The alligator has “blindness in both eyes” and spinal complications, among other health issues. The reptile was sent to a licensed caretaker until a place is found where it can receive permanent care, according to a release from the agency.

The owner’s state license to keep the alligator expired in 2021.

State environmental officials haven’t decided whether to bring charges.

Officials believe a lethargic 4-foot (1.2-meter) alligator found in Prospect Park Lake in Brooklyn in February 2023 was likely an abandoned pet.