A famed "emotional support" alligator has gone missing while on a trip with its owner after being targeted by suspected pranksters.

Distraught Joie Henney believes his 1.7m-long pet called Wally was stolen as a prank from an outdoor enclosure next to his holiday home in Brunswick, Georgia. It was then apparently dumped outside a nearby property - before authorities came to collect it and then released the reptile "back" into the wild of a 438,000-acre swamp dozens of miles away.

Mr Henney said the alligator had helped relieve his depression for nearly a decade, and the bond between the pair has earned them tens of thousands of followers on social media. "We need all the help we can get to bring my baby back," Mr Henney said in a tearful video posted on TikTok, where Wally has 143,000 followers.

"Please, we need your help," he added. Mr Henney, who lives in Pennsylvania, had taken Wally with him on a trip to the port city of Brunswick last month.

The Georgia Department of Natural Resources confirmed it received a report of a nuisance alligator in the area on 21 April and a licensed trapper was dispatched to capture it. The agency said the reptile was "released in a remote location.