Alligator Taken As A Hatchling Returned To Texas Zoo After 20 Years

An alligator believed to have been stolen from a Texas zoo as a hatchling has been returned after 20 years. The 8-foot (2.5m) reptile, named Tewa, was found near Austin by officials from the Texas Game Warden’s (TGW) office on Friday 3 March 2023. The gator was returned to the zoo in New Braunfels, near San Antonio, nearly 50 miles away, days later. In a statement, officials said: “Caldwell County Game Warden Joann Garza-Mayberry discovered the alligator while investigating an unrelated hunting incident. “The resident confirmed that the alligator was her pet and kept in a fenced in area. While the alligator was well cared for and healthy, at 8 feet in length, it had outgrown its habitat”. After establishing the owner did not have an alligator permit they relocated the toothy critter to The Animal World and Snake Farm Zoo as the director of the facility, Jarrod Forthman, jumped at the opportunity to bring the alligator back home after two decades.