NAPLES, Fla. — A man in Naples could be facing felony charges for keeping a baby alligator as a pet, but he said he only wanted to save the reptile.
Collier County deputies were serving a warrant at the home when they spotted an 8-inch baby gator in Kevin Gill's son's bedroom.
The family said the whole incident was a misunderstanding.
Gill said he found the baby gator and was trying to keep it from getting eaten. Gill gave the gator to his 13-year-old son.
"We went over there, picked it up, ya know, to keep the bird from eating it," said Gill. "Nurse him back to health and teach him about alligators."
He said he had no idea keeping the reptile was any different than having a lizard or snake.
"I didn't think it was a big deal since there's millions of them and they took them off the endangered species list," said Gill. "I had no clue. It wasn't like I was out collecting alligators. I was trying to save an alligator and nurse it back to health and we were going to take it over to the conservancy."
It's a felony in Florida to have a gator of any size without a license.
"I don't understand why it would be illegal, and everybody that I've talked to was amazed I was arrested for something like that," he said.
WFTV
