A Pennsylvania resident, who attributes relief from his depression to an alligator named Wally, reported that the reptile went missing while the family was on vacation at the Georgia coast. According to a report in The Independent, Wally, the “emotional support alligator”, was released into a swamp.

Wally is popular for being an emotional support pet and has dedicated social media pages with thousands of followers.

In a social media post, Wally’s owner Joie Henney shared over a week ago that his pet reptile was stolen. Since then, Mr Henney has been updating Wally’s Facebook page about the alligator’s disappearance. Sharing a picture of Wally, Mr Henney revealed that the reptile was stolen from its enclosure on April 21 in the early hours of morning.

He wrote, “Help is needed!!!!  Wally has been stolen…no this is not a joke. He was taken from his pen on Sunday the 21st sometime between 4:30 am to 7:00 am while in Brunswick Georgia. Walking searches have been conducted to no avail.  If anyone sees or hears anything please contact Joie directly. Any help is appreciated. Thank you.”

In another Facebook post, Mr Henney revealed that Wally was stolen by pranksters, who left the alligator outside the home of someone who called authorities. He added that this resulted in the alligator being captured and released into the wild.

He wrote, “Okay everyone I am going to lay things out to the best of my ability. Wally was stolen by some jerk who likes to drop alligators off into someone’s yard to terrorise them. Once discovered they called DNR, DNR then called a trapper.  The trapper came and got Wally and dropped him off in a swamp with about 20 other alligators that same day. The swamp is very large and the trapper said the chances of them finding Wally are slim to none. But this is Wally…..Joie and friends are currently headed to the swamp to search and will continue daily. We just pray with other alligators present that Wally is ok. We are not releasing the location at this time, however, if anyone wants to aid in the search please contact Joie directly for more details.  Please continue to pray because we need a miracle.  Thank you all for your love and support.”

Mr Henney also shared a detailed note, thanking the public for supporting him.

The Independent report claimed that as of Wednesday, efforts to find of the alligator has been unsuccessful.

A massive alligator was spotted on the tarmac of MacDill Air Force Base in Florida, prompting wildlife law enforcement to remove it. Pictures and videos shared by MacDill Air Force Base on social media show the alligator appearing to be relaxing under the wheels of a tanker plane at the base. 

The nearly 10-foot reptile was spotted Monday morning beside the landing gear of a KC-135 aerial refuelling aircraft, officials at the base in Tampa said. Soon after, officers with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission were summoned who captured the animal and released it into the nearby Hillsborough River.

A video shared online shows the gator thrashing around and trying to break loose as two officers try to capture it. The officers grab the reptile with two leashes and wrap them around the alligator’s abdomen, but it wriggles and resists. After a bit of struggle, the animal was eventually successfully removed from the tarmac.

Watch the video here:

Gator Trouble ! MacDill Air Force Base said : “Our newest toothy Airman has been relocated to a more suitable environment off base,” “Special thanks to FWC for the assist.”

An alligator caused some trouble after it decided to wander onto the Apron area at MacDill Air Force Base… pic.twitter.com/dRNTXqZbTs

— FL360aero (@fl360aero) April 22, 2024

After the alligator was caught, MacDill Air Force Base said, ”Our newest toothy Airman has been relocated to a more suitable environment off base. Special thanks to FWC for the assist.” According to FOX 13 in Tampa, Elvis is an even bigger gator known to inhabit the area regularly.

Notably, alligators are a common sight in Florida, US, where they inhabit wetlands, swamps, and lakes. Florida is home to a total of around 1.3 million alligators, as per the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s website. 

According to wildlife officials, alligators become more likely to wander into unfamiliar territory in April as they search for mates.

American alligators are apex predators that feed on fish, reptiles, birds and small mammals. According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, alligators occur from southeast Oklahoma and east Texas on the western side of their range to North Carolina and Florida in the east.

An 11-foot 340-kg kg alligator, which was being kept illegally at a home in Florida, was seized by Environmental Conservation Police Officers (ECOs). In a Facebook post, authorities said that “the owner of the home had built an addition to his house and installed an in-ground swimming pool for his roughly 30-year-old alligator, and allegedly allowed members of the public to get into the water to pet the unsecured alligator”. The reptile’s name is Albert, according to CNN-affiliate WKBW.

“I’m Albert’s dad, that’s all there is to it. He’s like family to everybody,” his owner Tony Cavallaro told the outlet after the seizure on Wednesday.

Mr Cavallaro told WKBW his license to own Albert had expired in 2021 and he tried unsuccessfully to renew it with the Department of Environmental Conservation.

But authorities said it is illegal to keep an alligator at home. “Even if the owner was appropriately licensed, public contact with the animal is prohibited and grounds for license revocation and relocation of the animal,” the department told WKBW.

New York Post said that Mr Cavallaro invited children from his neighbourhood to swim with the alligator.

The homeowner “allegedly allowed members of the public to get into the water to pet the unsecured alligator”, it quoted the state Department of Environmental Conservation as saying.

Officials said the alligator had a number of health issue, including blindness in both eyes and spinal complications when it was removed from the home.

The alligator’s owner is fighting to get his pet reptile back.

“As everyone has probably already heard The DEC and SPCA took Albert away from me saying that I put people in harm’s way with him. Everyone who has met Albert or knows Albert knows that this is not true,” he said in an online petition.

“I took care of him better than most people take care of their kids,” the petition further said.

The man is getting strong support on social media from the community. Many of his friends have said that Albert was a gentle alligator who didn’t pose a threat to the people and children he swam with.

Meanwhile, the reptile has been given to a caretaker till a place is found for it.

The daughter of a United States woman who lost her life to a 14-foot alligator expressed that her family was grappling with excruciating sorrow and agony. The alligator was found in a canal with a body in its jaws on Friday in Florida, as reported by the New York Post. It was sighted by a witness on a residential street in Largo, a small community located just four miles south of Clearwater Beach. Breauna Dorris, the victim’s daughter, posted on Facebook that her mother, Sabrina Peckham, was homeless and living in a forested area close to the incident scene.

Dorris speculated that her mother, aged 41, might have been on her way to her campsite when the alligator attack occurred. She also refuted several rumours circulating on social media that suggested her mother had ‘taunted’ the alligator.

“Some details I would like to clarify are that my mother did not ‘taunt’ the alligator, as some news outlets and comments are suggesting,” Ms Dorris wrote. “My mother was a part of the homeless population that lived in the nearby wooded area. It is believed that she may have been walking to or from her campsite near the creek in the dark, and the alligator attacked from the water,” she added. Ms Dorris said, “Regardless of the circumstances, no one deserves to die in this manner.”

Addressing her mother, she wrote, “To my mother: I love you more than I ever expressed, I miss you more than you’ll ever know, and I pray that you are looking down over me and your grandchildren.”

Furthermore, she mentioned, “Within 24 hours, we have raised over $4,000, which will be used for funeral and burial expenses.”

Alligator Attack Near Ridgecrest Park: Witness Account and Emergency Response

“I could tell there was a body in its mouth, so I started recording,” the outlet quoted the witness, JaMarcus, as saying. Mr Bullard, who was on his way to a job interview, promptly called the Largo Fire Department, which was not far from the shocking scene.

Upon their arrival, the emergency crew shot the alligator several times after pulling it from the water, according to Mr Bullard.

Jennifer Dean, a local resident, said, “Many of my neighbours who were present at the scene informed me about the gator”. Both the victim and the alligator were retrieved from the canal, according to the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office.

When investigators arrived at the scene, they were standing next to a large, blood-stained alligator. The location is in close proximity to the popular Ridgecrest Park, which features a five-acre lake known for harbouring alligators.

Ms Dean claimed that alligators frequently inhabit the region, but the one that died on Friday was among the largest she had ever seen.