MCALESTER NEWS-CAPITAL (Oklahoma) 05 September 05 See ya later, alligator (Trevor Dunbar)
Local exterminators were afraid they had bitten off more than they could chew Friday afternoon when they discovered an unusual pest.
Pro-Kil Pest Control was working at the Mine Safety and Health Administration office on Third Street Friday, when Pro-Kil employee Doug King saw what he believed was an alligator.
"I was trying to service this account when I saw it out of the corner of my eye," King said. "At first I thought it was just a squirrel or something, but when I looked right at it looked like a lizard. I noticed it was kind of moving side to side and I thought 'Man, that's an alligator.'"
King couldn't believe his eyes as the creature ran underneath a wheelchair ramp at an adjacent building. He said the animal was about two feet long and three inches wide.
"I knew I saw an alligator," King said. "But I thought I'd have a hard time convincing people it was an alligator."
King called over John Johnson and J.R. Wiseman, two more members of the Pro-Kil crew who were with him at the site. Both were skeptical at first, but decided to humor King.
Johnson stomped on the ramp while Wiseman laid on the ground and sprayed a chemical underneath it in hopes of forcing the animal out.
"(Wiseman) was screaming at me for stomping on the ramp," Johnson said. "About that time it ran out right across his arm and took off."
Wiseman said his first instinct was to run.
"He stomped the board and the alligator ran across my arm," Wiseman said. "I ran one way and it went the other. It's extremely fast."
So fast that the elusive animal was never found, even after contacting McAlester Animal Control.
"I think he's made his great escape," Animal Control officer Gary Winchester said.Winchester said the animal was probably a reptile called a Caiman Lizard.
According to the Fort Worth Zoo, Caimans are a member of the Crocodile family with an average length of two to four feet. They typically eat insects and snails, and are not aggressive by nature.
Winchester said people often keep Caimans as pets.
"People buy them small and they outgrow their aquariums. Then people just turn them loose," Winchester said. "But I've got to say I've never had a call like this before."
See ya later, alligator