GRESHAM, Ore. (AP) — A man known as the Reptile Man jumped into a Gresham pond Sunday to capture a young alligator.
Richard Ritchey took the gator to his home in Colton. He says he’s licensed to keep and transport exotic reptiles. He holds reptile shows around the Northwest.
The Oregonian reports Multnomah County Animal Control had been trying to capture the alligator since it was reported Thursday in the pond at Birdsdale Industrial Park. Animal control workers had set a trap using chicken for bait.
Ritchey says the alligator was too cold to eat. He says the only way to capture it was to jump in and wrangle it by hand.
Ritchey is also the owner of D.B. Cooper, an alligator he caught outside Vancouver in summer 2009.
