See You Later, Alligator

An alligator has gone missing in Caledonia. The Caledonia Patch is reporting that Boots, an American alligator, went missing from Jo Don Farms, 5907 Nicholson Road, at about 9 a.m. July 27. The reptile escaped from his pen when the other alligator owned by the small zoo was being shown to kids.

“It’s a freak accident,” said Bob Meyers, the farm owner, who added that he has no clue how the animal escaped.

Boots is described as having a 2-foot body and a 1-foot tail. Farm hands searched for the alligator for about an hour before calling the police. They continued to search for Boots for about four hours that day. The animal was believed to be headed to the Root River.

Meyers said the gator is not dangerous and only eats dead mice. The alligator has been trained to be a display animal and is very calm around people, he explained.

“Bob also stated that he would hold the animal so kids could pet it and not have to tape the mouth,” the police report said.

The farm received the animal from the DNR about four years ago after it was found in the Root River.

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