Man Arrested for Keeping Illegal Crocodile

A 34 year old Osaka man was arrested on Monday for keeping a saltwater crocodile without permission from local authorities. According to police, Soma Satomi, who runs a pet shop, is alleged to have kept a 1.5 meter crocodile in a tank in his shop, in addition to an alligator snapping turtle and 21 common snapping turtles. 

He has admitted to the allegation. He said he kept the animals as pets and did not plan to sell them. The police are investigating how he came into possession of these restricted animals. Saltwater crocodiles can grow 4 to 5 meters in length and the prey on mammals and other animals. 

This story made me remember a family I knew when I was young. The parents were friends with my parents and the family had three boys close in age who had an alligator in the bathtub in one of the bathrooms. I don’t remember where the creature came from or what ever happened to. I remember it was very small at first, but it grew and its teeth grew and it was scary.