NBC 11 (San Francisco, California) 25 May 07 SoCal Zoo Officials ID Gator Captured At Park
Reggie the alligator was captured Thursday afternoon at a Harbor City park, KNBC reported.
At about 3:30 p.m., park rangers and firefighters secured an alligator at a park at 25820 S. Vermont Ave. The animal was loaded into a transport vehicle and brought to the Los Angeles Zoo, and at that time it was not confirmed if the animal was indeed the renegade alligator, Reggie.
"It took about five or six guys to contain him," Hahn said. "They put duct tape around his snout and a T-shirt over his eyes."
City officials exchanged handshakes and high-fives as the caravan police and animal control vehicles entered the zoo. Hahn said the alligator will remain at the zoo and people will be allowed to visit.
"I knew this day was coming, but I didn't think it was coming this soon," said Leroy Martinez, who resides near the park. "A couple nights ago, I saw a truck here with flashing lights. It was right where they caught Reggie this afternoon."
Reggie has eluded capture in Lake Machado since 2005.
The most recent sighting of Reggie, or possibly another alligator, was made earlier this year by a city maintenance worker. News of the sighting traveled fast, and crowds began gathering in hopes of seeing the 7-foot reptile.
A series of trappers were unsuccessful in catching the gator after it was first spotted in the 53-acre lake at Harbor Regional Park during the summer of 2005. Their efforts were suspended that winter because the alligator was expected to hibernate.
But Reggie dropped out of sight entirely in October 2005. After months went by without the alligator being spotted, authorities speculated the gator may have traveled to a nearby flood control channel or died.
Hahn, whose 15th District includes the park, said Reggie, estimated to be 6 feet long when last seen, has grown about a foot. Hahn estimated the alligator captured Thursday at about 7 feet long.
Alligators are not native to California and it is illegal to keep them as pets. Reggie was apparently dumped into Lake Machado by a former police officer and an accomplice when the alligator became too large for a backyard pond.
Ex-officer Todd Natow and Anthony Brewer, both from nearby San Pedro, were arrested in August 2005. Natow, an LAPD officer from 1984 to 2001, has pleaded not guilty to 14 misdemeanor charges stemming from the alleged possession of the alligator and the reptile's release into the lake.
Brewer pleaded no contest to a violation of the state Fish and Game Code for releasing an alligator into the lake and was sentenced to three years probation and 45 days of Caltrans work.
Up until his death last year, famed crocodile hunter Steve Erwin communicated via e-mail with the city's Recreation and Parks Department, providing tips on how to search for and catch Reggie.
SoCal Zoo Officials ID Gator Captured At Park