5-Foot Alligator Rescued From Vacant Detroit Lot
DETROIT (WWJ/AP) - A 5-foot-long alligator that was abandoned on Detroit's east side has found a home -- at least temporarily.
Neighbors in the area say the reptile was tossed from a truck into a vacant lot Thursday night as temperatures in Detroit were just above freezing.
Shontez Gibson told WDIV that he and his uncle saw the animal being dumped in the field and rescued it.
"I had to do something. Nobody else was going to do it," he said.
Gibson said he kept the alligator in his own room, using a space heater to keep it warm, and gave it some fish to eat.
Gibson called police Friday and then the Michigan Humane Society showed up to remove the alligator -- which is currently being cared for at the Humane Society's facility in Rochester Hills.
Detroit fields and lots often are used as illegal dumping grounds for trash and other refuse.
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