Pet alligator escapes apartment and falls from balcony more than 20-storeys up

CCTV footage shows a one-metre-long gator plummeting from a high-rise building in Shenzhen, southern China, on Monday. Miraculously, its fall was broken by a shop’s canopy meaning it was able to survive his leap-of-faith. The store owners recounted hearing a loud noise and rushed outside, only to be taken aback by the sight of a live alligator lying in front of them. Police were able to locate the alligator’s owner, Mr Liu, who told them he was secretly keeping the alligator as a pet for over a decade - and was intended for consumption. But it is still not known how the alligator was able to escape the flat as no one was home at the time. Mr Liu expressed his apologies to the neighbours for the fright caused by the unexpected incident. The building’s management is now looking for any other potentially dangerous animals being kept within the premises.