Reptile & Amphibian Forums

The headline-grabbing alligator captured in Queens wasn't the only cold-blooded critter snatched off the city's streets over the weekend.

The young male alligator - not yet named - got a little R&R Monday at a Brooklyn animal shelter, where he was joined by two other reptiles, all nabbed within 24 hours.

The first was a lizard known as an Argentine tegu; the other, "a large - very large - iguana," said Michael Pastore, the field operations director of Animal Care & Control of New York City.

Cops from the NYPD's Emergency Service Unit collared the gator cowering under a Datsun on Newtown Ave. and 29th St. in Astoria about 3 p.m. Sunday.

Police officials initially said it was a crocodile, but Pastore confirmed it is a basic American alligator, about 14 inches long and less than a year old.

"He's fine," Pastore said. "He had some good reptile company."

Arrangements are being made to donate the swamp animal to the Poconos Reptile Sanctuary in Pennsylvania, Pastore said.

Because it is illegal to possess a wild animal in New York State, Pastore said he believes the animal was ditched on the street - and may have been a little scared.

"He did let out a couple of little yelps," Pastore said, "and if you've ever seen a nature show, a baby alligator would let out a little yelp to the mother when it is in trouble."

Read more: www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2010/08/24/2010-08-24_three_reptiles_nabbed_in_wild_24hour_span.html#ixzz0xZLD5vwC

OMG - a [man eating] Crocodile running loose in new York City. Should have put it on "Cops" or at least "Animal Cops".
Too bad it was only a 14" baby American Alligator. Are you sure it wasn't 15"? That would be considerably more serious, I'm sure.

"Because it is illegal to possess a wild animal in New York State..." Wonder what the definition of a Wild Animal is? Probably doesn't include Illegal Aliens, Wall Street Investment Bankers, and violent criminals.

jsc
-----
"As hard as I've tried, just can't NOT do this"
John Crickmer

BBC (London, UK) 25 August 10 Alligators spotted in northern US cities
At least four alligators have been seen in northern US cities in recent weeks, far from their usual southern habitat.
Analysts said the beasts were abandoned pets, not global warming refugees.
"People buy them as pets and then they get too big and at some point they decide they just can't deal with it," said Kent Vliet, a University of Florida alligator expert.
The reptiles have turned up in a Chicago river, a New York City street and a Massachusetts town this month.
On Sunday, an off-duty firefighter discovered a three-foot (0.9m) alligator sauntering across an avenue in Brockton, Massachusetts. It was wearing a spiked collar and dragging a broken leash.
In the Queens borough of New York City, also on Sunday, a two-foot reptile was found under a parked car. City officials, who described the animal as "harmless", impounded it at a local police station.
This month, a volunteer animal rescuer known only as "Alligator Bob" pulled two of the reptiles out of the murky Chicago River, which runs through the heart of America's third largest city.
"It's physically exhausting but enjoyable," Alligator Bob, who refuses to divulge his last name, told the Chicago Tribune newspaper on Wednesday after pulling a three-footer out of the river into his canoe.
Alligators are more usually found in south-eastern US states, including Florida, Louisiana and parts of Alabama and Mississippi.
Alligators spotted in northern US cities

Animal control officers in Brockton are trying to answer that riddle after a firefighter on his way to work Sunday morning found a 3-foot alligator, wearing a spiked collar and dragging a broken leash, lumbering across Clifton Avenue near Copeland Street.

“It’s not a call we deal with too often, thankfully,’’ Brockton animal control supervisor Tom DeChellis said. “It seems friendly, as far as alligators go.’’

Brockton Firefighter Scott Hurst said he was driving to work around 7 a.m. in the residential area when he saw the sharp-toothed reptile in the road near South Middle School.

Hurst jumped out of his truck, grabbed the animal, tied it down with a bungee cord, and called police, he said.

“I’ve never come across anything like that before,’’ said Hurst, who added he thought the green creature was an iguana until he got a closer look. “There’s a lot of kids in the neighborhood. I didn’t want anyone losing a finger.’’

A license is required in Massachusetts to keep exotic pets such as alligators, DeChellis said. It appears the alligator was tied up in someone’s backyard and escaped, he said.

DeChellis said he does not expect the owner to come forward, especially if the animal was being kept illegally.

A reptile specialist was expected to take custody of the alligator yesterday.

Brockton animal control officers have encountered alligators before, DeChellis said.

Alligators have occasionally been left behind in aquariums when the residents moved, and at least one was found in a pond at D.W. Field Park, he said.
www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/08/24/3_foot_alligator_caught_in_brockton/

Such a brave man...looking out for the children. Probably a 2 ft. Alligator,
jsc
-----
"As hard as I've tried, just can't NOT do this"
John Crickmer