Alligator captured at Chicago’s O’Hare airport

A small and ailing alligator was found and rescued Friday at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, according to various reports out Monday.

And to think, most of us don’t attempt to get a soda through security.

The most comforting quote to come out of the situation (emphasis ours): “Some human being physically carried it there and put it there. It’s not big enough to operate automatic doors.”

Well, thank goodness for small favors.

That observation came from a Chicago Herpetological Society spokesman, speaking with the Chicago Tribune. The 3-year-old gator, approximately 2 feet long, was spotted under an escalator by a passenger, then broom-scooted into a box and placed in the care of the society, the paper said.

The animal, dubbed “Allie” by the herpetological society, was suffering from a calcium deficiency and also from hanging out on the cold floor of the terminal, the spokesman told the paper. Alligators prefer surroundings of 85 to 90 degrees -- hardly the conditions during November in Chicago.

But who dumped the gator? According to CNN, Twitter yielded clues Friday when a photo of a man with a tattooed arm, holding the critter, was snapped on a train line that heads to the airport and posted by @CubsCat. Between the markings on Allie and the markings on the man, police said they may be able to find a match.

“They probably realized they couldn’t take it through checkpoint, and just let him go, but, oh my God!” said Tineka Walker, who CNN cited as the security guard first alerted to the animal’s presence under the escalator. Police initially thought Walker was pulling their leg, an officer told the local CBS station.

Allie, by the way, is destined for life in a reptile park after getting a little rehab first. All in all, better than a center seat in coach.

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