Wayward alligator hiding out in Texas RV park was ‘lost in the desert,’ sheriff says

Residents at an RV park in West Texas had a strange new neighbor move in, if only for a short time.

A man walked out to his car at a mobile home park in Midland, Texas, on Sunday, May 29, to find an American alligator hiding underneath it, according to a statement from the Midland County Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies responded, and the reptile was “taken into custody,” the statement says.

The sheriff’s office posted pictures of the “arrest,” sparking a series of comments from shocked users on Facebook.

“What the heck!” wrote Erica Miller. “This is crazy!”

“That’s what I said too!” the sheriff’s office responded.

American alligators are found in the United States from North Carolina to the Rio Grande in Texas, according to the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute.

Midland is located about 300 miles west of Fort Worth.

A veterinarian took the alligator to a local game warden, according to the sheriff’s office.

“We’re hoping a possible owner calls to claim our friend that’s obviously lost in the desert!” the sheriff’s office wrote on Facebook.

This story was originally published May 30, 2022 at 11:55 AM with the headline "Wayward alligator hiding out in Texas RV park was ‘lost in the desert,’ sheriff says."