JEFFERSONVILLE, Ind. (WDRB) — Police officers responded to a late-night traffic hazard call over the weekend near downtown Jeffersonville and encountered an unusual suspect: a hissing, 4.5-foot alligator wandering along a city street.
The juvenile alligator was spotted around 2 a.m. Sunday on Court Avenue. Callers alerted dispatchers that a reptile was loose in the roadway near downtown, eventually making its way to the front windows of a local law office.
"We hear and see crazy stuff all the time, but sure enough, (officers) got there and were able to confirm, in fact, there appeared to be a juvenile-sized alligator in downtown Jeff," said Capt. Samuel Moss with the Jeffersonville Police Department. "The call came out at around two in the morning as a traffic hazard. Somebody called it in and specifically said that there was an alligator in the road."
An alligator was found in Jeffersonville, Indiana. (Source: Scaletuary)
Before wrangling the animal, officers at the scene paused for a quick picture with the unexpected visitor.
Police called in representatives from Scaletuary, a reptile sanctuary based in Scottsburg, Indiana, to help safely capture the alligator. Residents and local workers did a double take when they saw pictures of the reptile and how close it was to them.
"I was shocked, obviously, like anybody else was, that anyone would have that large of an alligator here in Jeffersonville," said Dean Gettelfinger, who works across the street from where the alligator was captured.
Wildlife officials have since identified the owner, who said the alligator is 12 years old and likely escaped from its enclosure. Despite its age, the reptile is only 4.5 feet long - normally, an alligator of that age would be nearly twice that size.
Keeping alligators under 5 feet in length is legal under Indiana law.
This is not the area's first close encounter with a runaway reptile. In 2025, an abandoned alligator nicknamed "Ronzilla" was discovered in a nearby Clarksville apartment.
"This one is definitely a first - definitely nothing to the magnitude of actually seeing a real, live four-and-a-half-foot alligator," Moss said. "That was definitely a new one for everyone."
Following a thorough veterinary examination, officials said the alligator could eventually be released back to its owner.
Copyright 2026 WDRB Media. All Rights Reserved.
