Tiny alligator found in swimming pool on Long Island

NEW YORK (FOX 5 NY) - A family in Bayport found a tiny alligator swimming in their pool over the weekend but didn't call authorities.

After news outlets reported on the baby gator, a detective from the Suffolk County SPCA and a police officer from the state's Department of Environmental Conservation went to the home and confiscated the reptile, Suffolk County SPCA Chief Roy Gross said.

The 8-inch alligator is a hatchling, the chief said. Even though the animal seems harmless enough, Gross said that keeping alligators is illegal because they are unpredictable and can be dangerous.

Alligators are not native to New York, so the Suffolk SPCA and the DEC are investigating where this one could have come from, Gross said.

A licensed facility will take in the gator, officials said.

If you have any information about this alligator, officials are asking you to call either the Suffolk County SPCA at 631-382-7722 or the DEC at 631-444-0250.