State returns alligator stolen from New Braunfels Zoo decades ago

A Caldwell County resident told gamekeepers that she received an alligator egg from Animal World Zoo and Snake Farm. She took care of the cub for about twenty years.

SAN ANTONIO. Texas authorities have returned the alligator to the New Braunfels Zoo decades after a Caldwell County woman allegedly stole an unhatched reptile from the same facility.

Gamekeepers were investigating an unrelated incident near Dale, Texas when they came across an animal in an enclosure. The alligator was “clearly cared for” and “well fed,” a TPWD spokesman told KENS 5.

But the owner did not have permission to keep the reptile, which had outgrown the cage.

The woman told investigators she received an alligator egg about 20 years ago from the Animal World and Snake Farm Zoo in New Braunfels, a TPWD KENS 5 spokeswoman said. The woman said she was a volunteer at the time.

An alligator egg is about the size of a baseball and oblong. The reptiles lay dozens of eggs at a time, which means the zoo staff likely didn’t know the egg was missing.

The woman raised an alligator, which she named Teva, from a hatched egg. The gamekeepers gave the owner time to apply for a permit to own the alligator, but she did not receive one.

Authorities charged her with possession of an alligator without a permit and illegal possession of an alligator egg. Each felony is classified as a Class C felony and is punishable by a fine of up to $500.

In March, the rangers returned the animal to the zoo.

“She’s the perfect fit,” said Jarrod Fortman, director of Animal World and Snake Farm Zoo. “It’s like she found friends and ended up at home.”

Fortman suspects Teva has reunited with some of his siblings, as most of the zoo’s alligators have lived there at least since he joined the staff 19 years ago.

“Tewa’s sire can be basically any number of these large male bulls that we have,” he said. Captive alligators live about as long as humans.

Fortman said it would now be “impossible” to steal an alligator from the zoo. The Dale woman allegedly stole the alligator when the object was an unregistered roadside attraction.

Under different management, Animal World & Snake Farm now operates as a zoo. The facility is protected by more advanced technologies and more barriers.

Fortman said he invited the former alligator owner to visit Teva.

“We understand, even though (she) stole it from us, this alligator means a lot to her,” he said. “We want to make sure that she can go out and see him at any time, maybe not of her own free will.”

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