ANN ARBOR NEWS (Michigan) 13 August 07 DNR searches for alligator in lake - 6 resident sightings, tracks reported in Augusta Twp. (Khalil E. Hachem)
Several residents living near Lake Lenore in Augusta Township have reported seeing a 5-foot alligator in the private lake near Bemis and Bunton roads.
Mary Dettloff, a spokeswoman for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, said DNR officers inspected the lake twice last week but could not confirm the sightings. Still, she recommends that people keep children and pets away from the lake.
If it is an alligator, it must be someone's pet that either escaped or was dumped in the vicinity of the lake, Dettloff said. It won't be able to survive the harsh Michigan winter, she said.
"We would need to take it out of that environment,'' Dettloff said.
Six people have reported seeing the alligator, said Paul Sexton, head of the homeowners association for the 22 residences that surround the 27-acre lake. He said that he has seen tracks near the lake that he suspects are from an alligator.
Sexton said Sunday he had taken new photographs of the alligator swimming in the lake, though they are from quite a distance. He said he expected DNR employees to search again Sunday night. Sexton and DNR officials couldn't be reached this morning to report on the search's outcome.
Resident Marva Davis said she saw two light reflections moving on top of the water one morning a few months ago. Whatever it was scared some geese that flew away in a commotion. Later, her son and nephew reported seeing something swimming in the lake and they thought it was a giant turtle, she said. But when it left the water into the grass, they noticed a tail, leading them to believe that it is an alligator, Davis said.
"I know what I saw,'' Davis said.
She said DNR officers need to find the animal and remove it before it hurts someone.
DNR officers searched the lake without success during the day last Wednesday, Dettloff said. After consulting with the Detroit Zoo for technical advice and learning that alligators are active at night, the officers searched the lake Thursday night, again unsuccessfully, she said.
Dettloff has asked that residents try to photograph the alligator and e-mail their pictures to the department. Once DNR officials can confirm it is an alligator, officers will return to the lake and remove the animal.
"We don't have the staff to camp out there all the time,'' Dettloff said.
There are other small lakes in the area, so the alligator could have moved to one of them, Dettloff said.
DNR searches for alligator in lake