Police seek owner of alligator found in west Wichita (+video)

Wanted: a home for a surly alligator.

Authorities are trying to figure out what to do with a 3-foot alligator discovered Friday evening in the yard of a residence in the 300 block of North Gordon, Lt. James Espinoza said. That’s northwest of Douglas and Meridian.

It took five law enforcement officers to corral and subdue the animal.

“This one’s a little more feisty” than the last alligator found in the city, said Lt. Steve Kenney, who oversees the animal control section of the department. “It is not a nice alligator.”

The alligator did not belong to the people who live where it was found, Espinoza said. Nor did it wander into the area thinking Wichita is now part of the tropics thanks to the rainy summer so far.

Police think the reptile was being kept as a pet until its owner didn’t want to keep it any more. The reptile was apparently dumped by someone who left the scene, Espinoza said.

Law enforcement officials are trying to find the alligator’s owner. Wichita has an ordinance forbidding exotic animals such as alligators as pets.

“This thing does have teeth,” Espinoza said of the alligator. “It was pretty aggressive toward officers and animal control.”

The gator is currently being held at the animal shelter in a cage designed for them, Kenney said. It’s been three months since animal control last dealt with an alligator, he said. That one was so docile it’s now on display at Tanganyika Wildlife Park in Goddard.

Kenney said animal control is legally bound to hold the reptile for three days.

In the meantime, animal control staff are feeding the alligator pieces of raw chicken breast.

This story was originally published July 13, 2015 at 12:28 PM with the headline "Police seek owner of alligator found in west Wichita (+video)."