ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – A woman in Orange County was cited after deputies learned she was keeping an alligator in a bathtub, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
FWC officers said they learned from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office that the woman was keeping the gator in a bathtub at the Grove Resort and Water Park in Winter Garden, hearing from her that she had “borrowed” the animal without permission from Croc Encounters in Tampa Bay, where she said she used to work, Local 10′s Orlando news partner WKMG reports.
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According to a news release, when FWC officers arrived at her room Sept. 4, they located a “juvenile alligator inside of the bathtub.”
An FWC incident summary report goes into greater detail. In it, the woman claims she visited the business ahead of opening and used keys she still had on hand to gain access and retrieve the reptile, transporting it to the Orange County resort — where she was planning to stay for five days — so that she could take pictures with it for her birthday.
Officers cited the woman referencing 379.3014, or the unlawful sale, possession or transporting of alligators or alligator skins.
“The individual was cited accordingly, and the alligator was returned to its permitted owner,” the release stated.
The owner of the alligator declined to prosecute for the theft or trespassing that occurred, according to the incident report.