Grieving Detroit Mother Surprised To Find 6-Foot Alligator In Her Late Son's Bedroom

DETROIT — A grieving Detroit mother was stunned to find a 6-foot alligator in her late son's bedroom.

Mark Rosenthal of Animal Magic spoke with local news outlets last Tuesday about the call to remove the alligator, which the woman said she didn't know her son had been caring for.

Rosenthal told WDIV he found the alligator was kept in poor conditions inside an aquarium that was roughly the same length as the large reptile itself.

"It had no room to move," Rosenthal said. "No water, no heat, no light. I don’t know how it’s in this good of shape. It was in horrible conditions."

Rosenthal went on to tell CBS News that he placed a sweatshirt over the alligators head, and then grabbed its tail to safely retrieve it from the aquarium.

Although there is no statewide ban from owning an alligator, many cities, including Detroit, do prohibit residents from keeping the large reptile as a pet.

Whether legal or illegal, Rosenthal stressed the difficulties of raising an alligator as a pet.

"I don't care what you have if you can give it a full life. You're never going to give an alligator a full life because they get huge, and where are you going to keep it?" he said.

The alligator, which was named Navi the Gator, will be moved to a sanctuary in Florida.