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How an alligator ended up in a Northern Michigan motel room

Pine River Motel in Cheboygan, Michigan (Rod Meloni) (Copyright 2025 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit - All rights reserved.)

CHEBOYGAN, Mich. – An alligator was found in a Northern Michigan motel room on Friday.

According to 9 and 10 News, housekeeping at Pine River Motel in Cheboygan discovered an alligator while cleaning the room on March 14 after an occupant left.

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Police responded to the motel and learned that the alligator’s owner was in town for an exotic animal presentation with elementary school children.

The owner had other exotic animals with him for the presentation and realized his alligator, Wally, had gotten loose but wasn’t sure when and where Wally escaped from.

The owner agreed to head back to Cheboygan to pick up Wally, and they were reunited Friday night.


About the Author
Samantha Sayles headshot

Samantha Sayles is an Oakland University alumna who’s been writing Michigan news since 2022. Before joining the ClickOnDetroit team, she wrote stories for WILX in Lansing and WEYI in Flint.

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