MAn finds alligator frozen in creek
BETHLEHEM, Pa. (AP) A maintenance worker found a 4-foot-long alligator frozen in a creek about 100 yards from a city reservoir in the Poconos on Monday.
Authorities said it appeared that the dead animal was trying to crawl out of the cold creek, which feeds into the Penn Forest reservoir, when it died half-in and half-out of the water.
"It looks frozen in time," said Daniel Meixell, a Bethlehem Authority forest ranger. "We saw scratch marks on the bank, leading us to believe it had been living in this area for a little while. It looked like it was in good shape."
Jan 13,2004
The reservoir, now covered by a sheet of ice, is part of a 23,000-acre watershed in Monroe and Carbon counties. Salvesen said the alligator may have been a pet that got too big to keep, and had ample time to grow more during the warm summer.
In summer 2002, authorities caught three alligators and received reports of a fourth in Lower Macungie Township.
Alligators thrive in tropical climates, but researchers say they stop feeding when it gets colder than 73 degrees. Some say alligators can get through the winter on their energy reserves and burrow for shelter and hibernate when temperatures fall.
http://www.tnonline.com/archives/news/2004/01.13/statebriefs.html
Jan 14, 2004
It's see you later, alligator for Polk Township critter
By KAREN CIMMS
When Pete Holthausen set off on his monthly fence inspection at the Bethlehem Water Authority's Wild Creek Reservoir in Monroe County, he never expected to become a crocodile hunter.
As Holthausen made his way around the reservoir Monday morning he came upon a crocodile in Hell Creek, located in Polk Township. The reptile was half in and half out of the icy water.
"I thought it was rubber," said Holthausen, a maintenance worker at the Wild Creek Reservoir. "I thought someone was playing a joke until I poked it with my hiking stick and I could see it was real."
]What Holthausen didn't know was if it were dead or just dormant from the cold temperatures. He said he could see claw marks on the banks, where he assumed it had been trying to get out of the water.
Although he says he had an "uneasy feeling" in his stomach, he picked it up and carried it about a half mile as he continued his inspection.
It was starting to get heavy and he knew he had to radio in to the office and tell them what he found, but he was worried he would sound stupid to those on the other end.
They're reaction? "They thought I was kidding."
When Holthausen returned to the entrance of the reservoir he stored the reptile in the unheated maintenance garage. The water authority reported the find to the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission.
Holthausen and others initially believed what he had found was an alligator. It was also incorrectly reported in yesterday's TIMES NEWS that the reptile was found in a creek in Penn Forest Township.
TIMES NEWS photographer Bob Ford, who has experience with reptiles, pointed out that it was actually a crocodile and not an alligator.
Ford estimated the crocodile was about 3 or 4 years old and was left in the creek recently.
"It was probably dumped last Wednesday or Thursday, from looking at the body, which was still in good shape."
Ford believes it froze to death.
Crocodiles are cold blooded, meaning their body temperature is the same as their environment. When the temperature drops below 70 degrees they won't eat because their body can't digest the food.
"The condition of the body and the fact that it didn't look malnourished, I would guess it was dropped off fairly recently and died soon after," says Ford.
Scott Christman, a waterways conservation officer with the state Fish and Boat Commission, says crocodiles, or alligators, are out of their realm, since they are not native to Pennsylvania.
"If someone would put one into the wild, we would take enforcement action," says Christman. "It is illegal to introduce a non-native reptile or amphibian into the commonwealth."
Christman says a fine of at least $100, plus court costs and any additional fines could be imposed, such as fines for abandoning an animal.
He said anyone with information on the crocodile could call the Fish and Boat Commission at (570) 477-5717.
Daniel L. Meixell, special officer for the Bethlehem Authority says that the crocodile will be kept at the Wild Creek Reservoir for now. He said if the owner would like to reclaim its body, they can contact the authority at (610) 865-7090.
"If not, we'll see if the Bethlehem Authority wants to have it preserved for posterity."
Bethlehem Water Authority owns a total of 22,345 acres in the Tunkhannock watershed in Monroe County and the Wild Creek watershed in Penn Forest and Towamensing townships in Carbon County. Bethlehem and nine surrounding municipalities get their water from reservoirs there.
http://www.tnonline.com/archives/news/2004/01.14/zonelower.html
article with photo
a second one found in the same area about a month later
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