Alligators. They are not just for Florida and the Southeastern United States anymore. A fan attending a baseball game in Philadelphia at Citizens Bank Park tried to bring an alligator to the game as an “emotional support animal.”

You read that correctly. It wasn’t part of some prank or the latest fad on social media. An adult tried to bring an alligator to a baseball game. There’s a lot of information to digest here. The incident raises a number of questions, including how can an apex predator, known to be aggressive toward humans and in some instances kill them, be considered an “emotional support animal” for a person? And, even if the creature was therapeutic, why would someone think bringing an alligator to a stadium would be acceptable?

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To their credit, the Philadelphia Phillies denied the fan, Joie Henney, and his alligator, Wally, entry to the game, WPVI reported. The team’s policy on support animals states: “Certified service dogs or service dogs in training for guests with special needs are welcome. All other animals are prohibited.”

According to the Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, “an emotional support animal is an untrained animal that is used to support a person disabled by an emotional or mental disorder.” For such an animal to qualify, “a mental health or medical professional needs to write a letter saying that the animal is needed for the mental health of the person with the disability.”

But an alligator as an emotional support animal? I could not find how often such reptiles are used for mental health needs. However, I would have to imagine it’s not very common — though, admittedly, I could be wrong.

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However, given the unique situation and the strangeness of having an alligator as an emotional support animal, one would logically think that if Henney wanted to bring “Wally” to the stadium, he could have (and should have) contacted the Phillies beforehand. Instead, he walked the reptile on a leash to one of the stadium’s entrances.

I don’t know what mental disability Henney is a victim of, and I am empathetic to whatever pain he has endured. And I suppose I could even understand developing a fondness and growing attached to an animal such as an alligator. But I think if society is genuinely at the point of allowing alligators to be emotional support animals, things are definitely not normal in the world.