8 foot alligators are not allowed; a list of 16 animals or animal types you can't keep in Cape Girardeau without registering them with the police

Cape Girardeau police retrieved an alligator hatchling that was on the loose last weekend. That quirky discovery, along with media coverage and social media interest, led to the wider public knowledge that it is indeed legal to own an alligator in Cape Girardeau if it is shorter than 8 feet long.

Here is a list of "dangerous wild animals" -- animals not allowed for residents to have as pets -- listed in Cape Girardeau's ordinances:

• lion;
• ocelot;
• jaguar;
• cheetah;
• margay;
• mountain lion;
• Canada lynx;
• bobcat;
• jaguarundi;
• hyena;
• wolf;
• bear;
• non-human primate;
• coyote;
• deadly, dangerous or poisonous reptile;
• deadly or dangerous reptile more than 8 feet long, or any hybrid thereof.

Cape Girardeau's ordinances state: "No person may keep any dangerous wild animal in any place other than a properly maintained, zoological park, circus, scientific or educational institution, research laboratory, veterinary hospital or animal refuge, unless such person has registered such animals with the local law enforcement agency in the county in which the animal is kept."

Why 8 feet?

According to information provided by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (www.dnr.sc.gov/wildlife/publications/nuisance/alligators.pdf), "alligators are usually not aggressive toward humans. Unprovoked attacks by alligators smaller than 5 feet are rare. ... Single bites usually are made by alligators that are less than 8 feet long. ... Serious and repeated attacks normally are made by alligators greater than 8 feet in length. Death occurs either by suffocation or by drowning."