LOVELAND CONNECTION (Colorado) 04 March 08 Elusive reptile probably did not survive winter (Douglas Crowl)
If a large reptile did make a home in Loveland’s Jayhawker Ponds Natural Area last summer, it’s likely that it did not survive the winter, one expert said.
In July 2007, the Colorado Division of Wildlife placed a trap to catch what some officials believed was a large reptile, possibly a caiman, after a Loveland boy fishing there said he saw something that lunged at him.
He said the animal actually jumped out of the water and tried to come on a dock and then fell back in the water because it was too big, according to reports.
The city of Loveland confirmed the boy’s sighting, though it wasn’t the first time someone has reported seeing a larger reptilian at the ponds.
The search came up with nothing, except a large tiger muskie fish, Colorado Division of Wildlife spokeswoman Jennifer Churchill said.
She said she knew of no other search plans for the lakes.
"If we have anymore sightings of weird things, we would definitely check it out," she said.
Typically, a large reptile in a Colorado lake would mean someone released the animal, likely after it outgrew a domestic aquarium, said Gordon Rodda, a zoologist with the United States Geological Survey in Fort Collins.
If that happened, that animal likely didn’t make it through the winter, he said.
“Some could. My guess is that the most likely species that someone would have to dump would be a caiman and I don't think a caiman would survive," Rodda said.
He said caimans can survive ice on ponds, but he didn’t think it was likely that such an animal could have survived the cold winter.
Rodda said he’s heard stories about people releasing domesticated caimans into lakes in the west, but he himself hasn’t actually seen such an incident.
“The reason I'm thinking caimans is that alligators went off the market when they were listed as endangered,” Rodda said.
He said roadside baby alligator farms were quite common tourist attractions at one time in the south.
When the alligators became listed as endangered, they sold caimans instead, which continue to be on the market.
Elusive reptile probably did not survive winter