One of the 13 alligators stolen from the Arkansas Alligator Farm and Petting Zoo on Aug. 15 was found Wednesday morning and returned, Jamie Bridges, manager of the tourist attraction, said Thursday.
"The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission brought one of the baby gators back to us yesterday," he said.
Bridges, who was off work Wednesday, said a call was left on the office answering machine at 10:12 a.m. from a woman who said her husband had seen the small alligator in the road near Tepee Terrace, off Northshore Drive, west of Lake Hamilton. The woman said in the message that she knew some alligators had been stolen from the alligator farm and she would report the sighting to the AGFC.
Bridges said in August that security footage showed two people wearing masks and camouflage clothing broke into the business at 847 Whittington Ave., at 2:40 a.m. Aug. 15, and placed the 13 alligators in backpacks and left, all in less than three minutes.
Twelve of the alligators were less than a year old and measured between 12 and 18 inches long. The other alligator was 7 years old and measured 2 and a half to 3 feet long, Bridges said.
He said he believes AGFC has developed some leads regarding the theft and thinks it may be someone who lives in the area where the gator was found.
Bridges said there have been unconfirmed reports that the larger alligator has been seen in Lake Hamilton.
"The game and fish guy told our employee that there had been a sighting of one about 3 feet long in Lake Hamilton, but I don't know for sure," he said.
"Whoever took them may be 'feeling the heat' and has let them go; just threw them out somewhere," he said.
Bridges said the larger alligator could survive on its own, but the smaller ones would have a hard time surviving because "a lot of things will feed on them when they are that size."
"They are prey for just about everything when they are that size. Truthfully, if we don't get the small ones back, or if they aren't in a protected area, I don't see them making it. Even in the wild, an alligator may lay 30 to 50 eggs, but only about 2 percent of the hatchlings make it to adulthood," he said.
Bridges said it is against the law to possess an alligator, and anyone caught with one without a permit could be fined $1,000 by the AGFC, adding that permits for ownership are not being issued.
He said there is an alligator season in Arkansas but only a limited number of permits are drawn and anyone who gets a permit to harvest an alligator must follow strict guidelines.
Bridges said if any alligators are spotted in Lake Hamilton, the AGFC should be notified, or call him at 623-6176 if game and fish can't be contacted.
"I'll go get it if they can't reach game and fish. I've been around them a long time and I can handle it without getting hurt," he said.
Bridges said that alligators don't usually attack people.
"Other than when they might be in a feeding frenzy, they pretty much stay away from people. If a mama gator is on her nest and you come up on her, she'll get after you, or if people start feeding them, they then associate people with food and will start coming up to be fed, and if they get close enough they'll grab whatever they can get," he said.
Local on 09/04/2015