--- description: An eight-foot alligator was found by animal control officials in the backyard of a LA home after remaining in captivityfor 37 years. title: Los Angeles Alligator: Family Kept Animal in Backyard For 37 Years image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2ca31379e7e90fa3/698779fe0b72e33e3b6dd21f/los-angeles-alligator-home.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Newsfeed](/tag/time-section-newsfeed/) ## Newsfeed Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # LA Residents Kept Alligator in Backyard For 37 Years  by [Justin Worland](/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Jan 15, 2015 1:32 PM CUT  An 8-foot alligator was found in a box with two dead cats in the backyard of a home in the Van Nuys area of Los Angeles. An 8-foot alligator was found in a box with two dead cats in the backyard of a home in the Van Nuys area of Los Angeles.Los Angeles Animal Services Department/AP  by [Justin Worland](/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Jan 15, 2015 1:32 PM CUT An eight-foot-long alligator was found by animal control officials in the backyard of a Los Angeles home Monday after remaining in captivity in the same location for 37 years, according to media reports. The alligator, named Jaxson, was found in a wooden crate alongside two cat carcasses and was taken to the Los Angeles Zoo by animal control officials, the Los Angeles _Times_ [reported](http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-alligator-found-at-van-nuys-home-20150114-story.html "undefined"). “We tried to give him a good home,” said Ron Gorecki, who took care of the alligator after the death of the original owner last year. The keepers of the pet are likely to face prosecution for housing wildlife without a permit, an animal services spokesman told the _Times._ \[[LA _Times_](http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-alligator-found-at-van-nuys-home-20150114-story.html "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3668874/la-alligator/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3668874/la-alligator/"},"headline":"LA Residents Kept Alligator in Backyard For 37 Years","datePublished":"2015-01-15T13:32:37.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:15:58.509Z","description":"\"We tried to give him a good home\"","url":"https://time.com/3668874/la-alligator/","keywords":["Newsfeed","animals","Bizarre","los angeles"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2ca31379e7e90fa3/698779fe0b72e33e3b6dd21f/los-angeles-alligator-home.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Justin Worland","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/justin-worland/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2ca31379e7e90fa3/698779fe0b72e33e3b6dd21f/los-angeles-alligator-home.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Los Angeles Alligator","caption":"Los Angeles Alligator","creditText":"Los Angeles Animal Services Department/AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3668874/la-alligator/","name":"LA Residents Kept Alligator in Backyard For 37 Years"}}]}] ```