VIDEO: Suffolk SPCA Investigating Morelet's Crocodile Found Abandoned At Preserve On Long Island: Authorities

HOLTSVILLE, NY — The Suffolk County Society of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is investigating an incident where a crocodile was found at the Holtsville Ecology Center on Thursday, Chief Roy Gross told Patch.

"Obviously, it's not indigenous to these waters here," he said. "So, we're looking at it as abandonment, and we are investigating it."

The agency is trying to determine where it came from, and who abandoned it, he said.

"It's concerning," he added.

Strong Island Animal Rescue League received a call about the reptile that was apparently dumped at the center, and quickly got there thinking they "were going to have to wrestle" it, but the animal was "a little guy and already contained," the group said in a post to Facebook.

In a video included with the post, animal rescuer Frankie Floridia said that the little guy was running around the track at the center, and must have been dumped there, adding, "Unbelievable."

It was turned over to the state's Department of Environmental Conservation, and will be getting the proper care it needs when it gets to the rehabilitation center, the group said.

"Good Job to the girls who were able to keep eyes on him and get him contained till help got there," the post stated. "This is a serious problem and needs to be addressed, as it’s not good for many reasons, letting this or any animal loose like this."

"If anyone has any information as to who did this please PM us," the group stated.

The group planned to return to the spot to see if there are any others left behind.

In a statement to Patch, the DEC said that Environmental Conservation Officers responded to a report from a worker at the Holtsville Ecology Center of a small reptile apparently abandoned, and found on the facility’s exercise path.

Upon arrival, the officers took possession of the reptile, which had been contained by the worker, and although it was originally reported as an alligator, it measured less than two feet long and was later identified as a Morelet’s crocodile, the agency said.

The crocodile is currently in the possession of the Nassau County SPCA awaiting final transfer to a properly permitted facility, according to the agency.

It is unlawful to import, possess, or sell any alligator, caiman, or crocodile, parts thereof, and products made from those animals without the proper DEC permits in New York, the agency said.

Gross said his organization is offering an amnesty to anyone else who may have a similar reptile or illegal exotic pet.

The organization has joined forces with the DEC in the past to offer amnesties, and in one season alone confiscated 20 alligators, all of which they found legal homes for.

"I'm speculating that whoever wanted to get rid of the illegal animal or reptile that they had, they brought them down and did it this way," he said. "We never asked their names. We didn't. There were no charges against them because, again, it was an amnesty."

Other amnesties have not been as successful, and it has filtered down over the years to nothing, Gross says.

"So we know that there are people out there that did not want to turn their illegal pets in, and they still have them," he added.

In the last week, there was a call from a barber shop in Staten Island in which someone claimed they found an alligator, which was taken by the DEC.

Crocodiles, he noted, are more aggressive than alligators.

"They're all dangerous, obviously," he said. "They get big; they grow about a foot a year. An alligator probably could grow 14-to 15-feet, and a crocodile could grow much bigger than that."

“Could you imagine a child coming across something like that?” he said. “And we've seen that happen. We've had cases.”

In a pond inside a park in Huntington, a teacher was there with her students, Gross said, adding that “they were trying to catch tadpoles, and they're just walking, you know, in shallow water, and there was an alligator swimming.”

There were other alligators found elsewhere in Suffolk, including one in the lake behind First District Court in Central Islip, as well as an alligator in a Tupperware container at Exit 68 by an Applebee's restaurant.

The people were afraid to open it because it had some writing on it,” he said. “They didn't know what it was, and they contacted the authorities. They opened it up, and this two-and-a-half-foot alligator jumped out.”

He questioned what would have happened had a child found the reptile.

“Think of what could have happened,” he added.

There were other alligators found at Lilly Pond in Lake Ronkonkoma and in a field in Rocky Point.

Gross said the latest find is a reason to remind the public that there is an ongoing amnesty.

"If somebody calls and says, ‘Hey, I have an illegal reptile or a mammal,’ that amnesty applies, and we will not arrest them – they will not be charged,” he said. “However, if we find it, and they don't call us, and we find that they're in possession of it, or they release it, there are two charges here.”

The person or persons would be charged with abandonment, which carries a penalty of up to a year in jail and/or $1,000 fine. The second is illegal possession of a reptile or mammal.

“We take this very seriously,” he said.

Visitors can go into a pet store in Pennsylvania and buy reptiles, like alligators and rattlesnakes, that are illegal in New York, he explained.

“But once they bring it into this state, they're breaking the law,” he said. “And if you notice, most of these are alligators or caimans; there's not that many crocodiles. This is one of the few, but most people will have them, and they try to get rid of them when they get about two feet long.”

“So they get them when they're feeding, when they're yearlings, and then they start getting bigger,” he said. “That is how they either end up getting bitten by it, or they become more aggressive, or it's just much harder to handle.”

“‘Guys, what did I do?’” he asked. “And then they want to get rid of it. Don't get in the first place. That's what I'm saying.”

To report any information regarding the case, call the 24/7 hotline 1-844-DEC-ECOS.