An alligator that was allegedly stolen from a zoo as an egg or hatchling has returned after living for more than 20 years in a woman’s private backyard.<br /><br />The alligator named Tewa was recently relocated after it was discovered the reptile had been living in a residential backyard near Austin, Texas, USA, without proper permits.<br /><br />Videos shared by Texas Game Wardens show the approximately 8-foot alligator being carried into the Animal World and Snake Farm Zoo in New Braunfels. <br /><br />The agency said: “A special thank you to the team at Animal World and Snake Farm for assisting with the recent alligator relocation in Central Texas.<br /><br />“With our combined knowledge and experience, the transition was seamless.”<br /><br />In a follow up from the zoo, a staffer explained that the woman who kept the alligator is believed to have been a volunteer at the zoo decades before. <br /><br />They said: "[She] apparently stole this alligator, either the egg or the hatchling alligator at the time, put it in their pocket and took off.”
