Ananova:

A US wildlife officer's decision to bring a 5ft alligator into his daughter's school for a show-and-tell backfired when it escaped.

Dave Brady had recently captured the reptile and thought he'd bring it into his daughters class, with its mouth taped shut, in Florida.

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission spokesman Stan Kirkland said it proved a hit with the class: "They were impressed," he said.

Things started to go wrong when Mr Brady loaded the alligator back into his truck after the school visit in Panama City Beach.

"Most people don't think they can jump, but they have an amazing ability to jump," Mr Kirkland said. "They can not only jump, they can run."

The alligator successfully jumped out of the truck and ran off towards a local pond where it has so far managed to avoid recapture.

Mr Kirkland asked people to keep an eye out for the alligator: "It's green, it's 5ft long and it was last seen on the lam," he added.