Rescued alligators fly off to new home

Twenty-two alligators that resided at a north Scottsdale animal sanctuary were crated and transported Wednesday to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport for a flight to a permanent home in Florida.

VIDEO: Watch the rescued gators being transported

SLIDESHOW: See more photos of the process

Rescued after being set free or seized from owners who possessed them illegally, the alligators were housed at Phoenix Herpetological Society, a repository for most of the area's illegal animals and home to more than 400 native and non-native reptiles.

The cross-country transport was a joint effort by the Arizona Game and Fish Department and members of the nonprofit reptile sanctuary.

Loading the alligators into the crates began about 8 a.m. at the 2-acre facility near 78th Street and Dynamite Boulevard.

Smaller alligators were loaded first and the larger reptiles, which need two people to handle, were loaded after them.

The gators were expected to arrive at a Florida wildlife educational facility about 10 p.m. Wednesday.

Russ Johnson, society president, transported a small alligator from its previous home to a crate by throwing a towel over its face, gripping its neck and holding its tail.

"There is no such thing as choking an alligator to death, so don't hold them gingerly," he said, noting that handlers should watch the positioning of their feet. "If you don't hold them tight, their tails could break an ankle."

Dan Marchand, owner of the land on which the sanctuary is located, helped Johnson with the larger reptiles and warned about the razor-sharp teeth.

"When you're fascinated with reptiles, you know the alligator is the ultimate reptile and many people want to be able to say they own one," said Marchand as he gripped a 2-foot-long alligator.

"But like I tell kids in our educational programs, alligators are dangerous from the time they're born. I've got a grip on this one here, but he's tense and just waiting for me to make a mistake."

Most alligators being transported were 5 to 6 feet in length and weighed about 75 pounds.

The alligators, a restricted animal in Arizona, came from a variety of places in the state, said Lynda Lambert, a Game and Fish spokeswoman.

One of the alligators was found at the bottom of a pond at the McCormick Ranch Golf Club.

Others were taken in after authorities seized 32 alligators from a man's mobile home in Casa Grande nearly two years ago. He was breeding them, the largest reaching nearly 8 feet long.

"One of the main things we caution people against is releasing unwanted pets into the wild. It wreaks havoc on the native species and introduces non-native species to an environment that is not a natural match," Lambert said.

Randy Babb, a Game and Fish information and education program manager, said it's difficult to find someone to care for discarded reptiles.

"We hold them until we can find a home that is suitable," Babb said. "In this case, we are lucky because there are already many sanctuaries that are overburdened and overcrowded."

Without volunteer and member support from organizations, such as the Phoenix Herpetological Society, many animals would be euthanized because of the lack of facilities and other resources, Babb said.