A man arrested for breaching a probation order told officers about the alligator after he was stopped in Anderson.
showed the animal on the floor of the car. Officers were also pictured holding the animal, which appeared to be a juvenile alligator, during the operation.
"Officers looked into the vehicle and found there was in fact a live alligator," Anderson Police Department said in a Facebook post."Animal Control Officers and a Game Warden from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife responded to the scene to assist and took possession of the alligator." after concerns were raised by conservation groups, various Fish and Wildlife Departments and by medical experts who pointed to the use of alligator products in potentially life-saving medicines.American alligator
Watson, from Redding just north of Anderson, told police he had taken the animal from a friend who had been arrested. He said he had been caring for it for a week.