Gators in the United States? Been there, done that, watched the Discovery Channel special. In America’s northern cities? Now that’s news.
And it is. On Monday, news outlets in New York, Boston and Chicago independently reported instances of quadrupedal reptiles walking city streets and waterways.
In Queens, N.Y., an 18-inch-long baby alligator was caught walking the streets on Sunday. Animal Care & Control officers snared the creature as it sought shelter under a parked car.
“No cops could confirm it came out of the sewer,” NYPD spokesman James Duffy told the New York Daily News, which reports the creature will be sent to a wildlife sanctuary.
In Brockton, just outside Boston, a fire fighter on his way to work stumbled upon a 3-foot alligator crossing the street on Sunday. Taking matters into his own hands, the man threw the gator into the back of his pickup truck and brought the animal to his station where he showed off his impressive catch to his buddies and waited for animal control to arrive. According to the Enterprise News, the juvenile alligator was wearing a collar, suggesting it’s an escaped pet. But authorities doubt its owner will claim the animal since it’s most likely unlicensed by the state.
On Monday, a 3-foot alligator was spotted swimming in the Chicago River. As of last night, the animal was still at large, probably somewhere along the murky waterway’s banks. But maybe not for long. At 65 degrees Fahrenheit, the Chicago River is much too cold for the animal to maintain its 85 degree body temperature, according to FOX Chicago News. If it isn’t captured soon, the swimmer will soon be a floater.
Still, the alligator might have the right idea in hitting the concrete jungle and its toxic waters. Once caught, the animal will be held for several days and then released into the Florida Everglades — a much nicer place to live than the Chicago cage from which it outgrew or escaped.
Photo by B A Bowen Photography via Flickr.