Acting on a tip, conservation officers with the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources seized two alligators from a McCracken County home last week.

A 55-year-old Paducah man admitted to having the reptiles when officers showed up at his door on Thursday, according to an account posted on the department’s official Facebook page.

 

Each alligator was approximately 5 feet long. Conservation officers were able to seize them and take them to the Kentucky Reptile Zoo in Slade.

In Kentucky, it is illegal to import or possess alligators and caimans, which are considered dangerous wildlife. The owner was charged with two counts of propagation and holding of wildlife without a permit. Each count is punishable by a fine of up to $500.