California woman finds four-foot alligator in her backyard

A California woman got a snappy surprise when she found a four-foot-long alligator in her backyard on Thursday.

Karen Davis-Brown saw the reptile at her home in Petaluma, California, and called Animal Services, but didn’t specifically tell them that there was an alligator because she couldn’t believe her eyes.

‘He looked real but it was just too weird,’ Davis-Brown told ABC7. ‘I wasn’t going to tell him there’s an alligator in the backyard, because who would believe that.’

Davis-Brown almost didn’t think it was real, but she immediately called Animal Services

When Animal Services arrived they found the four-foot-long alligator in the koi pond

‘Quite a few cops showed up wondering if we were crazy people,’ she said.

Petaluma Animal Services found the alligator in the koi pond, according to the Santa Rosa Press Democrat. 

An officer caught the reptile with a net and duct-taped its mouth shut.  

The alligator named ‘Darth Gator,’ had escaped from the home of Bonnie Cromwell, the head of an animal rescue and education group called Classroom Safari. 

The reptile was captured using a net and its mouth was duct-taped immediately

It had escaped from the home of Bonnie Cromwell, the head of an animal rescue and education group called Classroom Safari, while she was trying to relocate it to a new facility

At the time of its escape Cromwell was moving it to another facility.

In California alligators are not allowed to be kept as pets without a permit from the Department of Fish and Wildlife. 

Animal Services said Classroom Safari has a permit, but the Department of Fish and Wildlife will investigate whether the animal was properly stored.   

In California alligators are not allowed to be kept as pets without a permit from the Department of Fish and Wildlife

Animal Services said Classroom Safari has a permit, but the Department of Fish and Wildlife will investigate whether the animal was properly stored