A live albino alligator was allegedly recovered from an American man’s suitcase in Germany last month and the reptile is reportedly on the road to recovery.
The three-foot–long alligator was detected at the Munich Airport in late September with one of the airport’s security checkpoint X-ray machines, according to a report by Süddeutsche Zeitung, a German newspaper.
Custom officials reportedly found the alligator wrapped in cling film when they opened the suitcase.
Fox News Digital reached out to the Munich Airport’s media relations team for comment and was redirected to the airport’s customs spokesman.
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The spokesman did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
A photo of the alleged albino alligator and an alleged X-ray image of the animal have circulated on social media by international news outlets.
The images appear to show an alligator affixed in a circular position with duct tape and plastic cling wrap.
Süddeutsche Zeitung reports that the alligator was completely wrapped except for its nostrils.
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The rare reptile’s health was in poor condition at the time, but the alligator is in better shape now after receiving care from animal keepers, the airport’s customs office reportedly announced on Oct. 13, according to Süddeutsche Zeitung.
The man who reportedly tried to bring the alligator through Munich Airport was traveling to Singapore, Süddeutsche Zeitung reported.
His name hasn’t been revealed, but authorities say he is 42 years old, Süddeutsche Zeitung reported. The man’s U.S. state of residence was not reported.
The man’s cellphone was confiscated and he was ordered to pay a five-digit security deposit, according to the newspaper’s report.
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Legal proceedings and a criminal investigation are in progress and the man is believed to have violated Germany’s Species Protection and Animal Welfare Act, according to Süddeutsche Zeitung.
German authorities have not confirmed whether the man’s unusual and dangerous transport method of the alligator was a smuggling attempt, according to The Straits Times, an English-language Singaporean newspaper.
The news outlet reported that rare animals fetch a high price in Singapore’s illegal animal trade.
“Many of the species that were being offered for sale are exotic wildlife species that are not allowed to be sold or offered for sale, or kept as pets in Singapore, including several species that are protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites),” Dr. Adrian Loo, group director of wildlife management within Singapore’s National Parks Board, told The Straits Times.
Wildlife experts estimate there are only about 100 to 200 albino alligators in the world, according to a report from the Animal World & Snake Farm Zoo, a conservation center in New Braunfels, Texas.
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