Michigan sanctuary trains officers how to catch alligators
NEIL BLAKE, The Grand Rapids Press
May 16, 2021
FacebookTwitterEmail
ATHENS, Mich. (AP) Every year, alligators are found in Michigan.
Most of them are small alligators still living in aquariums in people’s homes. But sometimes calls come in for larger alligators spotted in ponds or creeks. In 2019, a man was collecting minnows in Tuscola County when a 5 to 6 foot alligator lunged at him from a ditch. The man drew his pistol and killed the animal.
In 2020, the staff at Critchlow Alligator Sanctuary in Athens started offering a course for animal control officers on how to safely catch alligators like the one in Tuscola County. The year prior, the sanctuary took in nine alligators out of eight different Michigan counties that were loose. The staff noticed that many animal control officers had no training on how to handle the southern reptiles.