The O’Briens say they’ll hold on to the alligators for a few weeks while a vet examines them and new housing is arranged. “They’ll be nice and happy here for a while,” said Bob, “then we’ll find them a retirement home in Florida.” He wasn’t speaking figuratively. “Because these animals are now familiar with humans, they can’t be released into the wild,” he said. “We sometimes send them to retirement communities, where they have a pond and can look after them.”

His daughter added that an alligator farm was also a possibility. “These guys have all the potential to grow up to be 10 feet long,” she said. “At an alligator farm they’ll take care of them and make sure they don’t get eaten or turned into shoes.”

The O’Briens said they held a fundraiser to pay for Pedro’s transportation to Florida on a commercial flight.

Anyone who has information about the alligators’ release should call (516) THE-SPCA. The Baldwin alligators were the second and third such reptiles found on Long Island recently. A 2½-foot-long alligator was found in Mastic Beach on Sept. 28.