Stolen Alligator Returned Home
Published: October 4, 2004
A pet alligator apparently stolen more than a week ago from an exotic animal farm near Gretna was found back in its pen Sunday.
“Poor Ali has had a rough week, a very, very rough week,” said Stacey Smith. That rough week for Ali the alligator began a week ago Saturday when owner Stacey discovered her beloved pet was missing. She was beginning to think Ali was gone for good.
Sunday morning, when Stacey went to Ali’s pen outside Wildlife Encounters in rural Gretna, she found a surprise waiting. “There she was, so sometime during the night she was brought back.” Whether it was a guilty conscious or just more than the person could handle, Stacey doesn’t care. “She’s back, that’s all I want to do is thank them very much for bringing her back.”
Having her back means Ali can continue to visit young people around the metro. She’s one of a number of animals Stacey said she and her family keep as part of a federally-licensed education program they call Wildlife Encounters.
Ali is one of two alligators that turned up missing that night. The other one was about six feet long. Stacey thinks it simply wandered away when the thief left the gate open. It was found the next day in a field about 100 yards from the house. “I think they took the little one, but the bigger one in the pond they didn’t expect it to be that big.”
Even Ali, Stacey thinks, was a handful and was apparently hurt. “I don’t know what happened. A lot of the times when people don’t know how to handle them they bend back their legs and she’s got these huge knots here now.” Stacey doesn’t think it’s serious. She’s just glad whoever apparently had her decided to bring her back. “That’s a good thing. Happy ending.”
Stacey said the thief got through a chain and lock on a gate to get to the alligators. As far as keeping it from happening again, she said she’s not sure at this point what else she can do. They are exploring other possibilities, including video surveillance.
All of their animals are considered “rescues.” The two alligators were pets that belonged to other people who had to give them up.
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