‘Godzilla’ gator found outside US shopping mall

Weighing over 800 pounds, 12-and a half-foot long alligator lifted with forklift after being captured

A giant 12-and-a half-foot long alligator, dubbed ‘Godzilla’, was found outside a shopping centre in the United States on Saturday.

Godzilla, weighing over 800 pounds (363kg), was discovered when employees arrived at the centre in Sugar Land, Texas. It was in the back parking lot, where employees usually park their vehicles, a local news site said.



Authorities called Christy Kroboth, a licensed "nuisance alligator trapper" for help, who, after several attempts, managed to subdue and cart him away.

https://twitter.com/MarceloAMarin/status/663872923858567168

Once Godzilla was muzzled and restrained, a forklift was used to load him onto a truck.



Explaining how the sheer size of the alligator complicated his capture, Kroboth said, “We tried to do a front catch with him where you hold jaws and get him taped. But he was so big his jaws were too big for my hands. I couldn't get my hands to fit around his mouth."

#ICYMI: 800-pound alligator captured outside Texas shopping center: https://t.co/Y6Dtvvr4CThttps://t.co/frGZzzl5Xr

— ABC7 News (@abc7newsbayarea) November 9, 2015

Kroboth said Godzilla, who is 50 years old, is blind in one eye and has only partial sight in the other. He will be taken to an alligator farm in El Campo where he will live out his life, she added.

It is believed that he wandered over to the plaza from a nearby creek.

The article originally appeared on The Telegraph