By Lindsey Henley
WSLS10 Reporter
Published: March 31, 2008

It really doesn’t get any more exotic than this – a six foot, one hundred pound, Nile crocodile with a mouth full of razor sharp teeth right here in Roanoke.
“He just started of as a pet,” Laura Paner, with Croc Encounters in Tampa, said.
A Roanoke family kept the reptile illegally in a tank.
“They had gotten into this situation where they did have him and they really didn’t know what to do,” Paner said.
Now the animal is on its way to the crocodile sanctuary, Croc Encounters, in Tampa.
“It was the mom that really urged him to give it up.  I don’t think he was very happy about it, but it was the right thing to do,” she said.
Dave Orndorff, Director of Mill Mountain Zoo, agrees.
“Nile crocodiles have an attitude,” Orndorff said.  “You would not want to go and pet a crocodile.  Crocodiles are aggressive, they would snap at you.”
If you’re wondering how someone got a hold of a Nile crocodile, it may be easier than you think.  Not only can you buy them at places like exotic pet shows, but you can also purchase them online.
“This is not a good animal to have as a pet,” he said.
It’s a lesson one Roanoke family learned the hard way.