Alligator escapes zoo, tortoise may have helped
A 12-inch alligator escaped a Michigan zoo over the weekend after slipping under a fence, according to the zoo's owner. A large tortoise may have inadvertently helped the alligator escape by wearing away dirt near the fence.
This file photo shows an alligator lies on the bank in the Pantanal wetlands outside Cuiaba, Brazil. A tortoise at a zoo in Michigan may have inadvertently helped an alligator escape the zoo.
Eric Gaillard/Reuters/File
NAUBINWAY, Mich.
An owner of a zoo in Michigan's Upper Peninsula says a 12-inch alligator has escaped, possibly with some help from a tortoise.
TV stations WWTV-WWUP and WPBN-WTOM and MLive.com report the alligator named Carlos got out of an enclosure over the weekend at the GarLyn Zoo near Naubinway. He was spotted by people nearby, who called police, but he wasn't caught.
Gary Moore, who runs the zoo in Mackinac County with his wife, says he suspects the alligator slipped under a fence. Moore says a large tortoise that walks in the area, wearing away dirt, likely was an inadvertent accomplice in Carlos' getaway.
GarLyn Zoo is home to about 100 animals, including two adult alligators. Anyone who spots Carlos is asked to contact police or the zoo.
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