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Tony Wells Jr., 32, said the alligator had already been in his house when he moved in, Indian River County Sheriff's Office said.A Florida man was arrested after he illegally kept an alligator in his outdoor hot tub and fed it chicken for over a year, authorities said. Tony Wells Jr., 32, said the alligator had already been in his Vero Beach house when he moved in, the Indian River County Sheriff's Office said. After moving into the home, Wells said he “was just feeding the alligator,” his arrest report said. When deputies asked what he was feeding the alligator,...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - After running from deputies during a traffic stop Thursday morning, Bryan Zuniga, 20, ended up near a water treatment plant, where he said he was attacked by an alligator. Pinellas County deputies pulled over Zuniga around 2:45 a.m. for failing to maintain a single lane. Once he stopped, he jumped out of the passenger-side door, and ran, kicking and breaking a vinyl fence to escape. He was found a few hours later at a local hospital where he was being treated for multiple puncture wounds to his face, arm and armpit area.....

An international team of scientists led by Prof Cheng-Ming Chuong from the University of Southern California has discovered unique cellular and molecular mechanisms behind tooth renewal in American alligators (Alligator mississippiensis).Their findings, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, pave the way for tooth regeneration in people. “Humans naturally only have two sets of teeth – baby teeth and adult teeth. Ultimately, we want to identify stem cells that can be used as a resource to stimulate tooth renewal in adult humans who have lost teeth. But, to do that, we must first understand how they renew...

A young hunter in Texas has bagged the largest alligator ever certified in the state, weighing 800 pounds and measuring 14 feet, 3 inches. For Braxton Bielski, 18, it was a dream come true because he had grown up with a fascination for dinosaurs and always wanted to hunt prehistoric-looking alligators, sometimes referred to as “living dinosaurs.”

Bryan Zuniga took great pains to get away from a Pinellas deputy who tried to pull him over early Thursday. Instead, he ended up in great pain. After Zuniga stopped his 1995 Nissan SUV in the 7100 block of 78th Avenue, he jumped out and started running away, according to the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office.

PHOENIX, March 10 (UPI) -- Mr. Stubbs, an Arizona alligator who had his tail bitten off more than eight years ago, now has a prosthetic tail, his keepers say. The 11-year-old, 7-foot-long alligator at the Phoenix Herpetological Society may be the first alligator to be fitted with an artificial tail, The Arizona Republic reported Sunday. The Phoenix newspaper said it may take Mr. Stubbs months to learn to properly use his 3-foot rubber tail, which is attached with nylon straps. "The fact he doesn't try to bite it (the tail) is a good sign," society President Russ Johnson said. "Learning...

An alligator creeping through a Florida neighborhood had to be rescued after it became stuck in a storm drain. The 8-foot-long reptile dove into the roadside drain in Largo, Fla., head first on Friday, according to a news release from the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office. The sheriff’s office said they were alerted to the distressed gator, which was lurking three blocks from an elementary school, by a passerby, who saw the dark green body sticking out of the drainage opening.

Spurred by the shooting of an off-duty police officer, a three-month joint investigation of a street gang faction ended this week with eight arrests in Summit and Chicago, along with the confiscation of guns, drugs -- and an alligator. After an arrest was made in December's shooting, authorities began an investigation into the Latin Kings gang faction the suspect belonged to, targeting drug sales in Summit and the Chicago Lawn police district on the Southwest Side, according to a CPD news release issued tonight.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla.- A Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission trapper said a 14-foot alligator he caught in Lake Talquin was the fourth to exceed 11 feet in recent months. Lane Stephens, a contracted alligator trapper with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, said the most recent mammoth gator he pulled from Lake Talquin was a 14-foot behemoth that nearly matched the state record of 14 feet, 3 1/2 inches, The Tallahassee Democrat reported Wednesday. "I didn't know it was as large as it was," Stephens said. "I knew it was an extremely large gator because the complainant had told me...

A spunky 17-year-old who had his right arm partially torn from his body during a vicious alligator attack, told FoxNews.com that he wants the alligator’s head. "I'm going to use it for a prosthetic armrest," Kaleb Langdale said in an exclusive interview. “I want his head." The Florida teen lost his right arm below the elbow Monday night during an alligator attack. He said he survived by offering the 11-foot alligator his arm, and used the skills he learned by watching TV shows like "Swamp People" to survive the brutal attack. "I'm glad the alligator attacked me, because if it...

Gator bites off hand of Everglades airboat captain EVERGLADES CITY — A 63-year-old airboat captain lost his left hand when an alligator bit it off, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. The victim’s name is Wallace Weatherholt of Captain Doug's Everglades Tours on State Road 29. FWC officials said a criminal investigation is pending. Feeding alligators is a second-degree misdemeanor. POSTED EARLIER An Everglades City airboat captain lost his hand Tuesday afternoon when an alligator bit it off, according to a state wildlife official. The airboat captain was taken to a Naples hospital following the attack, said...

A 9-foot alligator bit a man on his left knee, officials saidA man was bitten and dragged by an alligator when he attempted to retrieve his golf ball from the water in Winter Haven, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said. Albert Miller, 75, is recovering from his injuries after an alligator lunged out of a pond, bit his left knee and dragged him into the water on April 25, the release said. “He lifted me up three feet and slammed me down,” Miller told The Ledger, referring to the nine-foot alligator. Miller’s friends, who were playing golf with...

LAKE WALES | "You'll never get me to look at a gator, touch a gator or eat a gator," Albert Miller said. He's seen enough of alligators for a while. Miller, 75, is at home recovering from being bitten and dragged by a 9-foot alligator while he was playing golf last Wednesday. Miller was playing a four-ball tournament with his friend, 66-year-old Ted Price last Wednesday at Lake Ashton Golf and Country Club. Price said his ball landed closest to the 15th hole, but Miller had hooked his into the water that borders the green. The golf course uses the...

It looks like a good way for this cat to become a tasty snack. But when the bold feline decided to take on an alligator in New Orleans, he came out remarkably intact. He chose to take on the reptile at an wildlife park just as it was trying to eat some chicken, and began raining blows on its snout. ... The cat may be the bravest or most stupid you've ever seen and a cynic may argue that the gator has been trained not to attack. But who's ever heard of a trained alligator?

CITRA — A foot-long alligator that looked “beat up” and “dehydrated” on the side of the road landed in a man's bathtub to be nursed back to health. But the efforts of good Samaritan Alexander Springer landed him in jail and charged with a second-degree misdemeanor.

A Hastings man and his fiancee came face to face with some unexpected wildlife near Prescott, Wis., on Friday afternoon. Derrick Radke and Cheryl McKenna were boating when they found a 3-foot-long alligator swimming in the Mississippi River, near an island where they had planned to camp. Radke said he initially thought the gator was a muskrat - until it swam toward his 16-1/2-foot fishing boat. Radke went after the gator and got as close as a couple feet as it was sunning itself on a log, seemingly unafraid of him. "I've been on the river all my life," said...

COPELAND, FL (WBBH/NBC) - A 90-year-old woman is recovering after a Good Samaritan saved her from an alligator attack on Wednesday. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission says Margaret Webb was in her front yard near Copeland, FL when the alligator attacked her. Dwain Daniels III was driving by, saw the attack and rushed out of his vehicle to help. "He looked over saw the lady on the ground, half in the water, wheeled around and jumped out of his truck to come to her aid. It appears he was able to pull her away from the gator," said Jayson...

VALPARAISO, Ind. — Police say an 11-year-old North Carolina boy was bitten on the hand by an alligator at a northern Indiana amusement park after a man invited nearby children to pet the 2-foot-long reptile. The Post-Tribune of Merrillville reports the bite Ryan Strand of Concord, N.C, received to one his fingers Sunday wasn't serious. But police are trying to track down the unidentified man who lifted the alligator from its enclosure at Zao (Zay-OH') Island in Valparaiso with a noose and told children they could pet it. The boy's mother, Donna Strand, tells The Times of Munster she and...

INDEPENDENCE, Mo.— An alligator caused a lot of commotion for one Independence man Sunday when three Independence police officers shot at his concrete lawn ornament. Rick Sheridan was working in his garage when he heard gunshots. He went around the back of his house to a pond, where he saw three police officers. The three officers had spotted the gator and were lined up on the bank, shooting at the large reptile. "The officer fired two rounds, and killed my concrete, ornamental alligator," Sheridan said. After realizing their bullets were bouncing off the yard art alligator, police left. Sheridan says...

A Ford Heights man kept an alligator in his home because “chicks dig it,” he told police who arrested him. Dewayne Yarbrough, 43, was arrested Thursday at his home in the 800 block of East 11th Place after the Cook County Sheriff’s animal crimes unit received a tip about Yarbrough keeping the American alligator at his home, according to a news release from the sheriff’s office. He faces a misdemeanor charge of possession of a dangerous animal. Officers obtained a search warrant for Yarbrough’s home and found the alligator in the kitchen there on Thursday, police said. The alligator is...