West Michigan Man Catches Alligator in Sewage Pond

There are animals you expect to see in West Michigan ponds: fish, turtles, ducks... but definitely NOT an alligator.

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Well, an alligator is exactly what Andy Bills, who works for the Stanton Department of Public Works, spotted in a sewage pond in the southern part of the city on Sunday, Fox 17 reports.

Bills tells Fox 17, he was making his way around the pond when at first he spotted large turtle:

I was looking at a big turtle that was walking into the pond...Right after the turtle did, the alligator walked from the weeds and slid into the pond... It took me a good minute or so to gather my thoughts and try to figure out if I really just saw what I thought I saw. Once I saw that he was there, there was no way I was gonna let somebody else catch it. I wanted to be the person that got to catch it.

Bills ended up using a fishing rod and a net to capture the small alligator.

A DNR officer then took it to Wilderness Trails Zoo near Birch Run, according to Fox 17.

A Facebook post about the incident has been shared almost 6,000 times to date.

I'm glad the little guy ended up being OK. As you likely know, alligators are not native to Michigan, so I'd guess this alligator was once a pet that someone discarded, which is upsetting.

I remember a few summers ago, alligators seemed to popping up all over the Mitten State. In August of 2019, the Detroit Free Press reported that at least 6 alligators had been spotted on the loose across Michigan that summer. Apparently, pet alligators are legal in Michigan, though local municipalities may have their own ordinances against them.