Rob Hardin / Chief Photographer / rh124104@ohiou.edu

Fish, an American Alligator, rests in the hands of Hocking Woods Nature Center Director Dave Sagan yesterday.  Fish was found on Mill Street in Athens at about 4:30 am yesterday and was named for the first officer who found him.

Athens police have made plenty of stops late at night on Mill Street. But they usually involve humans.

Athens police officers wrangled a two-foot-long alligator near 145 Mill St. at about 4:30 a.m. yesterday, according to a police report. The animal was spotted while officers were driving on patrols.

After taking the alligator back to the police station, it was handed over to Dave Sagan, director of the Hocking Woods Nature Center at Hocking College. Sagan, who’s handled all sorts of different wildlife for local law enforcement, said while the relatively small alligator didn’t pose a huge threat, it shouldn’t be taken lightly.

“These animals are a lot stronger than they appear,” Sagan said.

The alligator was most likely released by a student who kept it as a pet and left for the summer or couldn’t house it after it grew too large, Sagan said.  Animals from warmer climates usually don’t survive the Ohio winter and die when left outside, he added.  

But while smaller alligators don’t present a large safety threat, Sagan said he still worries about irresponsible pet owners who like to keep them in their homes. There are no laws against owning an alligator in Ohio, but Sagan thinks there probably should be.

“They don’t realize that those animals can be extremely dangerous, he said.

“They start out very cute, but they don’t stay that way very long.”

If one sees an exotic animal on the street or anywhere else they should contact local law enforcement and stay clear, Sagan said.

Sagan said he’s focused on returning the alligator to Florida so it can be reintroduced into the wild. An organization he’s used in the past usually takes alligators less than five feet in length.

But for now, Sagan’s animal handling students will enjoy the lucky reptile brought in by Lt. Anthony Fish of the APD. And that chance meeting led to a final ironic twist: A gator named ‘Fish.’