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Tue, Oct 28, 2003

Once the Gator's Out of the Bag

...or, 'Gentlemen, Please Control Your Reptiles.'

A passenger aboard yesterday's American Airlines Flight 776 [usually a 767-300, though early reports don't say, or enumerate the number of souls on board --ed.] is fond of alligators. So fond, in fact, that he had three of the critters, plus a crocodile, with him on the flight.

They were in the pressurized baggage hold, with their jaws bound, and in cages. They were also in burlap sacks, to protect both the 'gators and others who might be near.

However, when the baggage handlers went to unload the plane in Newark (NJ) after its flight from Miami (FL), they couldn't help but notice that 'Houdini' [OK -- we named him --ed.] had gotten himself loose, and was roaming about the compartment. Fortunately, his mouth was still securely bound.

After a moment of what must have been near-panic, the pros on the ground, aided by animal control officers, lassoed the errant Floridian and got him back into his cage.

Nobody was injured, and the alligator was not hurt.

['Gator courtesy San Diego Natural History Museum and Kokoro Dinosaurs --ed.]

FMI: www.aa.com

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