If only this story would’ve happened in Florida…
For once a headline like this didn’t come from the “Sunshine State.” Instead, the origins of this messy divorce and alligator removal stem from the “City of Brotherly Love” in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The recent split of the Philly couple got the attention of the local news channel and the city’s animal control unit. Props to Steve Keeley, morning reporter for Philadelphia’s FOX 29 station, because he journalistically covered the hell out of this story.
It appears that Keeley got the first interview with the recently divorced homeowner, and her strangely upbeat interview revealed a lot about the divorce and the basement alligator named “Big Mack:”
“My husband had him (the alligator) since 2011. We’ve had him all these years, been in the basement.
But now we separated so I wanted him out of here.”
The reporter asked a couple of follow up questions, citing some obvious safety concerns, and the recently divorced woman added this:
“Yeah, I was scared that it would come up, but he said it was caged up so that it wouldn’t come out.
Hopefully you find a nice home for him.”
I’m assuming she is saying that last line about the alligator and not her soon-to-be ex-husband.
The interview is below:
Now we get to the best parts: the video footage from the basement of the enclosure and the process of extracting the alligator out of the basement.
This first video reveals what the cage setup looked like, which slowly expanded over the 12 year period to house the growing 8-foot, 127 pound alligator:
Clearly no place for a wild animal, which is why the Philadelphia Animal Control Unit came to remove the alligator from the premises.
You would have to think that when these guys signed up for the ACCT Philly squad, they never would have imagined dealing with a gator like this:
Damn, look at that thing! How do you get a good night’s rest knowing you share the same roof with a beast like that?
Apparently the owners didn’t have a problem with it though, considering it appears they still used the basement pretty regularly.
I say that because in the next video, the alligator’s mouth is being taped up next to the owner’s home gym set up.
I guess lifting weights next to a vicious, wild animal makes for good motivation?
Yeah that electrical tape wasn’t doing the job…
And now for the grand finale, as the animal control unit ties up the alligator’s arms, the individual sitting atop the gator begins to tell the wild animal its Miranda Rights.
Hearing “you are under arrest, you have the right to remain silent” being said to a tied up alligator is quite the sight to see:
Thankfully the unit was able to safely remove the alligator from the Philadelphia basement, and “Big Mack” will now get to live out his days in a sanctuary in Michigan that volunteered to take in the 8-foot gator.
I’m sure the alligator will be much happier in a space meant for a reptile its size, but if it grew up in Philly, I’m also sure it will miss having its owner throw authentic Philly Cheesesteaks into its basement pen for dinner.
