Over 150 Crocodiles, Gators, Caimans Kept as Pets Rescued From Toronto Home
The 4- to 11-feet-long reptiles had been kept as pets for over 10 years.
— -- More than 150 crocodiles, alligators and caimans were recently rescued from a man in the Toronto-area who had been keeping the reptiles as pets, according to the reptile rescue zoo that took in the animals.
The reptiles, which were all adults and between 4 to 11 feet in length, were taken and transported by 25 volunteers to the Indian River Reptile Zoo over a four-day period beginning last Friday, according to the zoo's curator, Bry Loyst. He added that the volunteers used four 26-foot-long trucks to transport the animals to the zoo.
"Interestingly enough, this individual phoned our rescue and told us he could no longer take care of the 150 crocodiles, alligators and caimans," Loyst told ABC News today. "I didn't really believe it, but when I went over there, sure enough, it was true."
Most of the animals, which the man had kept for over a decade, were inside aquariums they had outgrown in a fairly large garage, Loyst said. The reptiles were in "fairly good health," though many of them did not have "muscle tone" since they couldn't move around much in their aquariums, he added.
"He did the wrong thing by buying these crocodiles, he did not idiotic thing by buying 150 of them, but he did the right thing by donating the money and animals to a proper place that can care for them," Loyst said.
Luckily, the zoo recently added a new $1 million crocodile rescue building, which has over 100,000 gallons of water held in multiple pools, Loyst added, saying that many of the rescued animals would be housed there.
The reptile rescue's board of directors told Loyst not to share the identity of the owner of crocs, gators and caimans, he said. The man donated a "generous amount" to the Indian River Reptile Zoo, he added, saying that the zoo is the only accredited nonprofit reptile rescue in North America.
It is illegal to own crocodilia in Toronto, and after being issued an offence notice, the maximum penalty for keeping crocodilia is $5,000, a spokeswoman for the city told ABC News today. She added that more information about the rescue or owner was not immediately available.