17 alligators catch a flight out of Pearson airport Friday

A passenger jet leaving from Toronto's Pearson Airport on Friday will have some unusual cargo in its belly – 17 large alligators.

Reptile wranglers in Hamilton and Ottawa are putting alligators in crates. The alligators are rescued from closed or struggling zoos across Canada – and in some cases, they're unwanted pets.

"We're very patient with them," said Paul Goulet, owner of Little Ray's Reptile Zoo, which is doing the work with help from the Ontario SPCA. "Alligators are obviously an animal where you have to proceed with the utmost caution."

Little Ray's built ventilated crates to fit the size of the alligators, large enough that they can stand but narrow enough that they can't spin around, Goulet said.

The alligators walk into the box assuming they can leave through the other side. Once they're inside, Goulet said, his staff close both sides to lock in the alligator for the length of the flight.

The large reptiles are headed to the Phoenix Herpetological Society and Alligator Adventure in South Carolina, Goulet said.

Hamilton is shipping five alligators and Ottawa is sending 12, with the largest gator being 272 kilograms (600 pounds).

Without private companies such as Little Ray's, the SPCA couldn't move an alligator that size, said Darren Grandel, deputy chief of the Ontario SPCA. Any time the need arises, he said, it's because someone has tried to have an alligator as a pet.

That's the case with one of the alligators being transported Friday, Grandel said. Someone from the Renfrew area surrendered it.

It's an age-old story — sometimes people buy the animals as babies without realizing how big they'll get. In some cases, Grandel said, people believe a myth that alligators will only grow to be as large as their surroundings.

"Decade after decade, people don't learn," he said.