A one-metre alligator hiding under a parked car in Las Palmas was not what residents of La Isleta were expecting

Policía Local and the Guardia Civil's nature protection unit were called to remove the reptile from Faro Street after locals spotted it sheltering beneath a vehicle

🐊 ¿Un caimán paseando por Las Palmas de Gran Canaria? 😲

Los vecinos de La Isleta lo encontraron oculto bajo un vehículo y dieron aviso.

🌿 Nuestro #SEPRONA, junto a Policía Local, se hizo cargo del animal, de alrededor de un metro de longitud, que fue capturado sin… pic.twitter.com/XMDmoiAZOa

— Guardia Civil (@guardiacivil) September 11, 2026

It´s safe to say that most people parking their car on Faro Street in the La Isleta neighbourhood of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria last Wednesday night were not expecting to find a one-metre alligator underneath it. Several residents spotted the reptile quietly sheltering beneath a parked vehicle and, sensibly, called 112 rather than attempting to deal with it themselves.

Officers from the Special Night Unit of the Policía Local were dispatched to the scene, confirmed that yes, there really was an alligator under the car, and then coordinated with agents from SEPRONA, the Guardia Civil's specialist nature and environmental protection service, to bring the situation under control.

The operation went smoothly. The reptile was immobilised and safely captured without any injuries to members of the public or, as far as authorities have confirmed, to the animal itself. The alligator is now in SEPRONA's custody while an investigation gets underway.

The big question, of course, is how it got there. Authorities have not officially confirmed the reptile's origin or identified an owner. One local report suggested it may have belonged to a resident keeping it as a pet, but that has not been confirmed, and there is currently no evidence establishing where it came from or how it came to be loose in the street.

Cases of exotic animals being kept illegally as pets, or abandoned by owners who can no longer manage them, do occur in Spain, and SEPRONA's remit covers precisely this kind of situation. Whether the alligator escaped, was released or somehow made its own way to Faro Street is something investigators are now working to establish.

For the residents of La Isleta, it was an unexpectedly eventful Wednesday. For the emergency services, it was probably not the strangest call they have ever had to deal with, but it was certainly up there.

Image: Guardia Civil/X.com