When he arrived, he found the fisherman was telling the truth: He had caught an alligator.
The caller reported reeling in a gator on Norris Lake on March 18, the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency said in a news release. He said he caught the animal on a type of fishing lure that imitates a small fish.
The fisherman had the animal pinned down by the time the wildlife officer arrived, the agency said. The officer confirmed it was an alligator measuring 3-4 feet in length, WATE reported.
The issue is, alligators aren’t found in the wild in northeastern Tennessee, and it’s illegal to own them, officials say.
Alligators have begun expanding into southwestern Tennessee from other states but are not typically found in the state, the wildlife agency said after a 7-foot gator was spotted in the area.
They range as far north as North Carolina and as far west as Texas, according to the Smithsonian National Zoo.
Gators in Tennessee are “not the norm,” wildlife resources officers said in September when McClatchy News reported a gator was found in the Appalachian Mountains.
Wildlife officers said the Norris Lake gator was likely an illegal pet released into the wild.
“Alligators are a Class 1 wildlife species, which are those considered inherently dangerous to humans and may only be possessed by permitted exhibitors or commercial propagators,” the wildlife agency said.
Matthew Cameron with the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency told WATE that swimmers likely don’t need to worry too much about alligators appearing in their waters.
“Are there gonna be alligators out there? Probably not,” Cameron told the outlet. “But once again, it’s possible that someone could have captured another one, brought it into Tennessee illegally and then released it illegally into the water.”
The gator is staying at the Little Ponderosa Zoo for now until authorities can figure out where to put it, the agency said, noting that the zoo doesn’t normally house gators.
“TWRA would like to remind the public that it’s illegal to possess an alligator in Tennessee and furthermore, releasing them into the wild poses safety and biological threats to humans and the ecosystem,” the agency said.
Norris Lake is a reservoir that’s about a 60-mile drive north of Knoxville.
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