Only In New York

Just in case you've been living under a rock these past few days, allow me to introduce to you one Antoine Yates, a 31-year-old Harlem man who, in the tradition of Tarzan and Ace Ventura, believes he has a special connection with exotic wild animals. Unfortunately for him, his pals "Al" The Alligator and his roommate, a 500-pound Bengal tiger have been removed from his apartment in the Drew Hamilton Houses on Adam Clayton Powell Boulevard and shipped to refuges in the midwest, after an anonymous caller told police on Thursday that "someplace in the city, there is a large wild animal who is biting people."

"I was just trying to create a little garden of Eden, something that this world lacks," Yates told reporters.

"He just has a love for animals," concurred his sister, Cynthia Yates. "There's nothing wrong with that."

A second tiger, some cubs, two Rottweilers, rabbits and a tarantula also lived in the apartment, until some family members, including children, moved to Philadelphia in June, taking the animals with them, neighbors said.