Alligator Living in River, and Four Foot Alligator Found in Home

A small alligator, roughly 2 to 3 feet long was found in Woonasquatucket River, northern Rhode Island. The alligator was officially found by David Everett who said a member of the Army Corps of Engineers had told him where it was.

"I was there 5 minutes and I saw the alligator. Even though it's small, it's not something you walk up to," Everett said.

Everett returned to the river, camera in hand, to snap a shot of the small alligator.

"It won't make it through the winter," said Steven Hall, the Department of Environmental Management's chief of environmental police.

"People buy alligators as pets," Hall said. "They get too big to handle, so they set them free."

"We've had them all across the state and it doesn't seem like people have a lot of luck apprehending them," Hall said. "As soon as people appear, they jump in the water and they're gone."

"A lot of people think they're cute exotic pets when they're 6 or 8 inches," said Marshall, the state veterinarian. "But when they get big, they're a bad idea. It's not a significant danger. They're not more dangerous than a coyote or a fox, but you don't want to take chances. But it's not 'Run for the hills! It's an alligator!'"

In other gator news, animal welfare workers say they found more than two dozen animals, some alive, some dead in a Philadelphia home.

Neighbors had been complaining about the smell coming from the man's house until finally on Tuesday a Police Officer responded to a 911 call that a man was standing outside his home naked.

Upon arrival, the Police found an alligator, turtles, rats, dogs, cats, frogs, iguanas and tarantulas all living under the same roof.

Authorities removed a four-foot alligator from the home and say the owner of the pets was taken in for a mental health evaluation.