American Alligator Escapes Enclosure At Central Coast Reptile Park

A large American alligator has escaped from its enclosure amid rising floodwaters forcing keepers to attempt a reptile relocation in the rain.

Australian Reptile Park keepers on the Central Coast sighted the giant reptile stuck between two fences after it had managed to cross the internal boundary fence.

Keepers were then forced to perform a manual removal of the alligator, grabbing it around the stomach and transporting it back into the lagoon.

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Head reptile keeper Jake Meney told news.com the entire procedure was extremely dangerous to perform under heavy rain fall.

“You never really know the temperament of an alligator, so although this guy was pretty happy to be relocated, we have to be prepared for him to change his mind at any stage,” he said.

“Although there was no danger of him breaching the main boundary fence near visitors, there was still no way he would have been able to get back into the lagoon on his own.”

The escape comes as both NSW and QLD record heavy rain and flash flooding over the past two days with more wet weather expected to come.

Some parts of NSW have also received severe thunderstorm warnings.

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