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DAILY TIMES-CALL (Longmont, Colorado) 24 November 05 Two-foot gator found roaming Longmont pond (Pierrette J. Shields)
Longmont: They called the critter "Dundee."
Close. But not quite.
The reptile that three Longmont men say they captured in a pond near the D-Barn next to the trails on the east side of Main Street is most likely an American alligator, not a crocodile, said Ann Elizabeth Nash, director of the Colorado Reptile Humane Society, based in Longmont.
The gator is slightly longer than 2 feet, but Nash said it will grow to more than 10 feet long. Nash identified the animal by photos.
A man who gave his name as James Nelson said he and two friends were riding bikes along the trail Tuesday when he saw movement out of the corner of his eye, heard a screech and saw the splash. They went to investigate and said the small alligator surfaced and watched them.
"That sucker's fast, real fast," said Nelson's friend, who identified himself at Justin Taylor.
Nelson, Taylor and Edgar Flores said they watched the alligator for a while Tuesday. They said they returned Wednesday and used a net to capture it.
Nelson taped its jaws closed so they wouldn't get bitten and put the creature in a standard-sized bookbag to figure out their next step. Wednesday afternoon they were still trying to determine what to do with Dundee. They called pet stores and were considering calls to animal control
and veterinarians.
Nash said it's likely the alligator was a pet that someone abandoned at the pond. If it is really an American alligator, it cannot be kept as a pet, she said.
Windi Padia, district wildlife manager for the Colorado Division of Wildlife, said the abandonment of the exotic animal in Colorado hurts the animal and the pond in which it was released.
It is unlikely that it would have survived as the weather got colder, she said.
Padia said a pet store won't buy the animal from the men because it cannot be resold. She suggested that the animal be placed with the Colorado Reptile Humane Society until arrangements could be made for it to live in the proper environment.
According to information on the American alligator on the Florida Museum of Natural History's Web site, the animal is native to Alabama, Arkansas, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Texas. The site also notes that the alligators grow to an average 13 feet long.
Two-foot gator found roaming Longmont pond

DAILY TIMES-CALL (Longmont, Colorado) 29 November 05 Not To Scale - Humane Society takes in alligator, but finding a home won’t be easy (Pierrette J. Shields)
Longmont: A small alligator found last week in a Longmont pond is now in residence at the Colorado Reptile Humane Society.
“We’ll try to find some kind of sanctuary placement, and if that isn’t possible, he’ll be humanely euthanized,” said Ann-Elizabeth Nash, director of the society, which is based in northern Longmont.
The American alligator, a little more than 2 feet long, arrived at the Colorado Reptile Humane Society via the Longmont Humane Society on Sunday. The three Longmont men who found and captured the non-native animal surrendered it to the Longmont Humane Society, which passed it along to the reptile humane society for proper care. It is likely an abandoned pet, Nash said.
She added that the alligator, which is likely 1 or 2 years old, will not be donated to a gator farm in southern Colorado because such farms harvest the animals and offer alligator wrestling classes, which she said is inhumane.
She added that a zoo is unlikely to take on the alligator because it is a common animal. It cannot be released back to the wild because it has been in captivity, and wildlife regulations are strict about releasing animals into the wild. Even so, she said, the young gator wouldn’t likely survive in the wild.
“We’d like it to have a good outcome,” Nash said. “At least it won’t be freezing to death or chomping on the native species.”
The men who discovered the gator said last week that they were riding their bikes along a trail near the D-Barn on Wednesday and were attracted by a screech and a splash. When they investigated, they saw the alligator’s eyes and nose surface. They returned Thursday with a net and captured the animal, tapped its mouth shut and notified the media. They called pet stores to see if the animal could be sold and then surrendered it Sunday.
Nash said the alligator isn’t interested in eating yet, but when it is, it will get a diet of large bugs, thawed frozen mice, chicken and turkey. She said the society will likely keep it for a couple of months in an effort to place it with a sanctuary.
“He’s bright, alert and responsive,” Nash said of the alligator’s health as it swam in a bathtub Monday. “The color is good and normal.”
American alligators are native to the Gulf Coast and can grow to be 13 feet long and up to 650 pounds.
Humane Society takes in alligator, but finding a home won’t be easy