Alligator Shot, Killed In Maury County - newschannel5.com

20 June 2011

A two and a half foot alligator was spotted not along the Gulf, but in Middle Tennessee. A man in rural Maury County came outside to find the sharp toothed creature snapping at his dog. The homeowner shot the gator and called animal services.

Maury County Animal Services refused to disclose exactly where the gator was found but said it was somewhere along Greens Mill Road between Mahlon Moore Road and Clara Matthews Road.

"I've been around here for 31 years and never heard of an alligator," said neighbor Brian Smith. "I'm done getting into the creeks."

The gator carcass was taken to the animal shelter and has now been disposed of. Officials think likely it was once somebody's pet and was let loose or got loose.

"I hope it escaped and they didn't just turn in loose," said Maury County Mayor Jim Bailey. "That wouldn't be a very good thing to do, to let somebody else take care of it."

State wildlife officials said it is illegal to keep gators as pets. Only 12 alligators have been found in Tennessee in the last ten years. Most are spotted in the Southwest part of the state near the Mississippi River.