Yarbrough told Cook County sheriff's investigators he kept the alligator in a small tank and fed it only 10 live mice a month to keep it from growing too large. He said he bought the gator five years ago in Indiana for $200.

Animal control investigators did not say how they learned of the alligator, which they found in Yarbrough's kitchen. The alligator was taken to the Animal Welfare League and will be given to the Chicago Herpetological Society.