SUMNER COUNTY—Kansas Department of Transportation workers discovered the carcass of an American Alligator in the Ninnescah River while working on the riverbank in Sumner County, according to a social media report from the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism game wardens.
Marty Capron, a local Herpetologist identified the alligator carcass as approximately three years old. "This was obviously someone’s pet since alligators are not native to Kansas."
The KDWP&T wrote "This a reminder that even though they might be cute babies, they will grow up to be a dangerous predator. They grow a foot per year for their first ten years of life, after which the rate of growth slows. People never really think about the consequences of having an animal that is meant to live in the wild and trying to raise it as a pet. A captive raised alligator, even if it's for only a year or so, can never be released into the wild."
"Captive raised alligators, and other wild animals, quickly learn to associate food with people unlike wild animals who must hunt and forage for their next meal and tend to shy away from people. Most zoos do not accept unwanted pets, they simply don't have the time or space. When these animals are dumped in the wild it is detrimental to the animal and local wildlife similar to Florida’s problem with Burmese Pythons."