A man was caught on video stealing an alligator from a West Virginia pet store; the video clearly shows the man grabbing the 3 month old alligator and stuffing it in his shirt.

CBS 12 spoke with employee Anthony Williams who says he went to feed the reptile Tuesday morning and when he didn't see it, he realized this thing wasn't hiding under any rocks.

That's when they looked back on the video and recognized the suspect, who they say is a frequent customer and already owns an alligator.



He told the employee he came in for food and distracted her, looking around for some other things while a man in a green shirt did the dirty work.

"Doesn't seem like the safest thing to do," Williams said. "I'm just shocked. Every business has to deal with shoplifting, but I would just would not expect an alligator to be shoplifted."

Williams says even though it was a baby gator, he sure wouldn't put it under his shirt.