Did you hear the one about the Cardinal who purchases an alligator?
It's actually not a very funny joke, especially if you're a member of PETA.
Arizona Cardinals defensive lineman Darnell Dockett recently attracted the attention of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals for purchasing an alligator in the Florida Everglades, according to the organization.
But did he? No, according to a witness with whom The Huffington Post spoke.
"Nobody purchases alligators here," said Beverly Mosko, a manager at Everglades Holiday Park in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The animals in the park are, in fact, rescues, according to the park manager.
The reports of Dockett's alleged purchase began surfacing after he live blogged a trip to the park. On July 3, Dockett tweeted: "I'm out here messing with these gators in everglades!" He followed that tweet with a photo of himself and a baby alligator that was captioned, "I just bought this! His new name is NINO."
On July 7, PETA sent a letter to Dockett informing him that it had been alerted to his baby alligator purchase and was aware that he intended to "keep him as a captive pet."
The letter detailed the prohibitive laws and regulations against keeping an alligator as a pet, described how the animal would become "neurotic and self-destructive ... because of extreme boredom," and warned, "You would be held liable for any damage, injuries, or illnesses caused by the alligator."
The letter added, "We stand ready to help find a suitable habitat for this animal."
There's only one problem: The purchase, according to Holiday Park, never happened. Instead, Dockett had paid to have his photo taken with the gator and had apparently posted it to Twitter as a joke.
"They charge $5 for people to hold it -- to get their picture with the gator," Mosko said. "What they do with [the picture] after that is up to them. It's just a photo."
According to Mosko, the park was not contacted by PETA to confirm the purchase had taken place.
Dockett's agent did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Huffington Post on Monday. The pro-baller is, however, apparently having some fun with PETA, as is evident by several of his Twitter posts.
The Huffington Post spoke with Stephanie Bell, Associate Director of PETA's Cruelty Investigations Department, on Monday afternoon and informed her about the Everglades Holiday Park comments regarding the alligator.
"We are quite relieved to learn that he did not purchase an alligator," Bell said.
"We have concerns about the fact that the photo features an animal whose mouth was shut with electrical tape," she added. "So we will probably want to look into that a little further."
http://weirdnews.aol.com/2011/07/11/darnell-dockett-peta-buy-alligator_n_894748.html#s306778
Showing posts with label alligators. Show all posts
Showing posts with label alligators. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Monday, June 20, 2011
Illinois man who kept alligator to woo women charged
A US man thought he had the perfect chick magnet in his pet alligator. Authorities only saw a dangerous animal.
A charge of possession of a dangerous animal has been filed against 43-year-old Dewayne Yarbrough of Ford Heights in Chicago, Illinois, who claims he kept the four-foot alligator to impress women.
Mr Yarbrough told Cook County sheriff's investigators he kept the alligator in a small tank and fed it only 10 live mice a month to keep it from growing too large. He said he bought the gator five years ago in Indiana for $200.
Animal control investigators did not say how they learned of the alligator, which they found in Mr Yarbrough's kitchen.
The alligator was taken yesterday to the Animal Welfare League and will be given to the Chicago Herpetological Society.
Monday, June 6, 2011
Did you get some good holiday snaps? Hunt is on for two alligators spotted lurking in fishing lake - in NORFOLK
By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 12:43 PM on 4th June 2011
A holidaymaker claims to have spotted two alligators lurking in a lake - in East Anglia.
He called the police after catching sight of the reptiles in the water at a holiday park in Wortwell, Norfolk.
Police confirmed they are investigating the sighting but despite scouring the park, neither creature has been found.
Visitors to the 60-acre Waveney Valley Lakes are keeping their eyes peeled for the pair - and are giving the fishing lakes a wide berth.
Park manager Dave Potter, 58, told The Sun: 'It has caused quite a stir.
'We have 90 plots for caravans and lodges, so there are a lot of people here.
'The police had a good look around but didn't find anything.'
Norfolk Police confirmed a member of the public called to report he had seen the alligators and officers informed the park's owners.
Alligator expert Dr Laura Brandt said it was possible the alligators had been released or found their way to the water.
She warned: 'They will eat anything that moves.'
Native to the U.S. and China, the alligator is notorious for its bone-crushing bites and has existed for 200million years.
A large American alligator can weigh 800 pounds and can grow to more than 13 feet long. Their average lifespan is 50 years.
The park's website said the lakes at Waveney - about 15 miles south of Norwich - were excavated in 1942 to provide the materials for the construction of many local airfields for the Allied Air Forces war effort.
The fishery originated in the 1960s when thousands of carp, tench and bream were introduced to the lakes. It now attracts anglers from miles around.
The website states the park is a 'natural haven for wildlife' including kingfishers, herons, grebes and three species of bats.
Meanwhile, police shot a concrete lawn ornament in the shape of an alligator in the suburbs of Kansas City, Missouri, this week after thinking it was real.
The drama began when a neighbour who had not seen the fake alligator before called 911 to report that his children had spotted it while playing in some nearby woods.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1393797/Alligators-spotted-Norfolk-Did-good-holiday-snaps.html
Last updated at 12:43 PM on 4th June 2011
A holidaymaker claims to have spotted two alligators lurking in a lake - in East Anglia.
He called the police after catching sight of the reptiles in the water at a holiday park in Wortwell, Norfolk.
Police confirmed they are investigating the sighting but despite scouring the park, neither creature has been found.
Visitors to the 60-acre Waveney Valley Lakes are keeping their eyes peeled for the pair - and are giving the fishing lakes a wide berth.
Park manager Dave Potter, 58, told The Sun: 'It has caused quite a stir.
'We have 90 plots for caravans and lodges, so there are a lot of people here.
'The police had a good look around but didn't find anything.'
Norfolk Police confirmed a member of the public called to report he had seen the alligators and officers informed the park's owners.
Alligator expert Dr Laura Brandt said it was possible the alligators had been released or found their way to the water.
She warned: 'They will eat anything that moves.'
Native to the U.S. and China, the alligator is notorious for its bone-crushing bites and has existed for 200million years.
A large American alligator can weigh 800 pounds and can grow to more than 13 feet long. Their average lifespan is 50 years.
The park's website said the lakes at Waveney - about 15 miles south of Norwich - were excavated in 1942 to provide the materials for the construction of many local airfields for the Allied Air Forces war effort.
The fishery originated in the 1960s when thousands of carp, tench and bream were introduced to the lakes. It now attracts anglers from miles around.
The website states the park is a 'natural haven for wildlife' including kingfishers, herons, grebes and three species of bats.
Meanwhile, police shot a concrete lawn ornament in the shape of an alligator in the suburbs of Kansas City, Missouri, this week after thinking it was real.
The drama began when a neighbour who had not seen the fake alligator before called 911 to report that his children had spotted it while playing in some nearby woods.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1393797/Alligators-spotted-Norfolk-Did-good-holiday-snaps.html
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Kansas Police Open Fire At Lawn Ornament, Mistaking It For An Alligator
First Posted: 06/ 2/11 01:53 PM ET
INDEPENDENCE, Mo. -- Police responding to a rare alligator sighting in suburban Kansas City took quick action to dispatch of the beast, shooting it in the head, as instructed, while it lurked menacingly in the weeds leading down to a pond.
It wasn't until a second rifle shot bounced off the reptile's head that the officers realized they had mortally wounded a concrete lawn ornament.
A resident of a subdivision near the pond called police Saturday evening to report that his children spotted the alligator while they were playing in some nearby woods.
After consulting a conservation agent, who told them to kill the gator if they felt it posed a danger, one of the officers shot it twice in the head before realizing something was up, said Tom Gentry, an Independence police spokesman.
"It didn't move," Gentry said. "They inched up closer and closer and discovered it was a mock-up of a real alligator made to look like it was real."
In the officers' defense, it was growing dark when they shot the fake gator and it was partially submerged in the weeds.
The property owner told police that the gator was meant to keep people off his property, Gentry said. Officers told him a no-trespassing sign would have been wiser.
"Now he'll have to patch up his alligator," Gentry said.
Conservation agent Derek Cole said the department has received calls in the past about alligators that had been set free in populated areas, so there was no reason to believe the Saturday sighting wasn't valid.
"The department doesn't get involved in something like that," Cole said. "They asked if they could go ahead and dispatch it if it was a danger, and I said there's a kill shot on alligators, a small kill shot on the head. I said if they can get a shot like that, go ahead."
http://weirdnews.aol.com/2011/06/02/kansas-city-police-alligator_n_870428.html
INDEPENDENCE, Mo. -- Police responding to a rare alligator sighting in suburban Kansas City took quick action to dispatch of the beast, shooting it in the head, as instructed, while it lurked menacingly in the weeds leading down to a pond.
It wasn't until a second rifle shot bounced off the reptile's head that the officers realized they had mortally wounded a concrete lawn ornament.
A resident of a subdivision near the pond called police Saturday evening to report that his children spotted the alligator while they were playing in some nearby woods.
After consulting a conservation agent, who told them to kill the gator if they felt it posed a danger, one of the officers shot it twice in the head before realizing something was up, said Tom Gentry, an Independence police spokesman.
"It didn't move," Gentry said. "They inched up closer and closer and discovered it was a mock-up of a real alligator made to look like it was real."
In the officers' defense, it was growing dark when they shot the fake gator and it was partially submerged in the weeds.
The property owner told police that the gator was meant to keep people off his property, Gentry said. Officers told him a no-trespassing sign would have been wiser.
"Now he'll have to patch up his alligator," Gentry said.
Conservation agent Derek Cole said the department has received calls in the past about alligators that had been set free in populated areas, so there was no reason to believe the Saturday sighting wasn't valid.
"The department doesn't get involved in something like that," Cole said. "They asked if they could go ahead and dispatch it if it was a danger, and I said there's a kill shot on alligators, a small kill shot on the head. I said if they can get a shot like that, go ahead."
http://weirdnews.aol.com/2011/06/02/kansas-city-police-alligator_n_870428.html
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Rare croc lays dozens of eggs at St. Augustine Alligator Farm
Fertile ones will hatch in a few months; fewer than 1,000 exist now.
Posted: April 15, 2011 - 12:00am
By Marcia Lane
St. Augustine Record
ST. AUGUSTINE - Officials at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park know just how those women feel who deliver babies all the while protesting they weren't even aware they were expecting.
"We didn't know she was pregnant," said John Brueggen, director of the popular tourist exhibit.
"She" is a 15-year-old gharial crocodilian named Karma, an India native who on Thursday presented the zoological park with a clutch of 41 eggs. Those eggs are the first since a group of juvenile gharials was brought into the United States about 15 years ago in an effort to help preserve the critically endangered species. There are fewer than 1,000 in the world.
The eggs count as "a very big deal," Brueggen said.
Keepers found 30 eggs in the pond that's part of an exhibit housing two females and one male gharial, a species losing its habitat and lives to habitat destruction and over-fishing. As the day progressed, Karma laid another 11 in the pond.
Normally the mother would have dug a hole in a sandbank in which to lay her eggs; the pond delivery was her way of telling the staff they hadn't provided a good place for her to give birth.
"We thought we had years," Brueggen said of the gharials, who at 15 are still considered juveniles.
Normally when the male is sexually mature a large node grows on the tip of its long narrow snout. That node is known as a ghara, and the source of the animal's name. The male at the Alligator Farm has developed a small ghara, but nothing like that found on gharials in the wild.
Then those eggs appeared. Keepers rescued the eggs from the water. If they had left them, water would have seeped inside drowning the embryo. The thick mucus around each egg protected them.
Jen Walkowich, a reptile keeper at the facility, cleaned off the eggs, measured them and marked them with a pencil. From there they were put in plastic containers filled with a vermiculite mix (yes, like the stuff used in gardening).
"It keeps the moisture. You need close to 100 percent humidity," Brueggen said.
One of the eggs was broken during the transfers from outside to inside.
The remaining eggs are now divided among three incubators in order to eliminate the risk of mechanical failure. The gharials are temperature dependent for sex determination, and the incubators are set at 89 to 92 degrees.
Within a few days, park officials should know which of the eggs are fertile.
The clue will be a dark band that develops around the egg. After that happens the eggs can't be turned since the young develop from the top down and turning could kill them.
"Once we know they're fertile, everything is in our hands," Brueggen said.
In about two months the gharials should hatch, and then the Alligator Farm can start handing out the cigars.
Protecting the species
Fifteen years ago the St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park joined with others to help the Indian gharial.
According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the number of gharials has declined 96 to 98 percent since 1946. In the 1970s the gharial was considered on the brink of extinction and is listed as critically endangered by the IUCN.
It's estimated the wild population is now down to several hundred and the total population including captive animals is less than 1,000.
These days 15 of the animals are in six institutions in the United States.
"We knew we had to start breeding some sort of as an insurance colony," said Brueggen. "They're a very rare species in the wild."
The facility's three gharials - Raj, Karma and Sutra - came to the facility 15 years ago as young animals only a couple of feet long.
These days they're 11 feet plus in length. Raj is one of only three males in the United States.
"What's endangering [the species] the most is mostly habitat destruction, polluted rivers, over fishing and, oddly enough, the mafia in India. They steal sand for construction purposes. The animals need pristine sand beaches along the river to lay their eggs," Brueggen said.
Unlike alligators that mound their nests out of vegetation and lay their eggs, the gharials are like sea turtles and dig holes in the sand in which to lay their eggs. They don't lay where the sand is disturbed.
http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2011-04-15/story/rare-croc-lays-dozens-eggs-st-augustine-alligator-farm
Posted: April 15, 2011 - 12:00am
By Marcia Lane
St. Augustine Record
ST. AUGUSTINE - Officials at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park know just how those women feel who deliver babies all the while protesting they weren't even aware they were expecting.
"We didn't know she was pregnant," said John Brueggen, director of the popular tourist exhibit.
"She" is a 15-year-old gharial crocodilian named Karma, an India native who on Thursday presented the zoological park with a clutch of 41 eggs. Those eggs are the first since a group of juvenile gharials was brought into the United States about 15 years ago in an effort to help preserve the critically endangered species. There are fewer than 1,000 in the world.
The eggs count as "a very big deal," Brueggen said.
Keepers found 30 eggs in the pond that's part of an exhibit housing two females and one male gharial, a species losing its habitat and lives to habitat destruction and over-fishing. As the day progressed, Karma laid another 11 in the pond.
Normally the mother would have dug a hole in a sandbank in which to lay her eggs; the pond delivery was her way of telling the staff they hadn't provided a good place for her to give birth.
"We thought we had years," Brueggen said of the gharials, who at 15 are still considered juveniles.
Normally when the male is sexually mature a large node grows on the tip of its long narrow snout. That node is known as a ghara, and the source of the animal's name. The male at the Alligator Farm has developed a small ghara, but nothing like that found on gharials in the wild.
Then those eggs appeared. Keepers rescued the eggs from the water. If they had left them, water would have seeped inside drowning the embryo. The thick mucus around each egg protected them.
Jen Walkowich, a reptile keeper at the facility, cleaned off the eggs, measured them and marked them with a pencil. From there they were put in plastic containers filled with a vermiculite mix (yes, like the stuff used in gardening).
"It keeps the moisture. You need close to 100 percent humidity," Brueggen said.
One of the eggs was broken during the transfers from outside to inside.
The remaining eggs are now divided among three incubators in order to eliminate the risk of mechanical failure. The gharials are temperature dependent for sex determination, and the incubators are set at 89 to 92 degrees.
Within a few days, park officials should know which of the eggs are fertile.
The clue will be a dark band that develops around the egg. After that happens the eggs can't be turned since the young develop from the top down and turning could kill them.
"Once we know they're fertile, everything is in our hands," Brueggen said.
In about two months the gharials should hatch, and then the Alligator Farm can start handing out the cigars.
Protecting the species
Fifteen years ago the St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park joined with others to help the Indian gharial.
According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the number of gharials has declined 96 to 98 percent since 1946. In the 1970s the gharial was considered on the brink of extinction and is listed as critically endangered by the IUCN.
It's estimated the wild population is now down to several hundred and the total population including captive animals is less than 1,000.
These days 15 of the animals are in six institutions in the United States.
"We knew we had to start breeding some sort of as an insurance colony," said Brueggen. "They're a very rare species in the wild."
The facility's three gharials - Raj, Karma and Sutra - came to the facility 15 years ago as young animals only a couple of feet long.
These days they're 11 feet plus in length. Raj is one of only three males in the United States.
"What's endangering [the species] the most is mostly habitat destruction, polluted rivers, over fishing and, oddly enough, the mafia in India. They steal sand for construction purposes. The animals need pristine sand beaches along the river to lay their eggs," Brueggen said.
Unlike alligators that mound their nests out of vegetation and lay their eggs, the gharials are like sea turtles and dig holes in the sand in which to lay their eggs. They don't lay where the sand is disturbed.
http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2011-04-15/story/rare-croc-lays-dozens-eggs-st-augustine-alligator-farm
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Alligator reportedly sighted in Adair County
 |
| This photo, provided by the Adair County Sheriff's Office, shows what is reported to be an alligator seen in Adair County near Watts. Courtesy |
Published: 3/26/2011 2:26 PM
Last Modified: 3/26/2011 3:13 PM
WATTS — Adair County law enforcement officers and state game wardens believe the reported sighting of an alligator in a muddy stream near Watts may have some teeth and not be an outrageous fish tale.
Believed to be an alligator because of the fresh water surroundings, the gator has been spotted in a muddy oxbow near Ballard Creek, just off the Illinois River, near Watts. The stream is not used for boating or canoeing or any other recreational uses, said Chris Reese, who saw the alligator on March 18.
“I was driving down the road — daydreaming when I noticed a bunch of turtles on a log,” Reese said. “One of the turtles was beaten up pretty bad — then I saw a gator on the bank.”
When the 27-year-old Army veteran took a second look, the four- to five-foot long reptile scurried into the muddy stream. Reese said he and two other men were about 100 feet away from alligator.
“We all just looked at each other in disbelief,” Reese said.
Reese tried to get a photo with his cell phone of the alligator, but missed the shot. The men later returned to the area later that day and saw the alligator for a second time, he said.
Pretty soon word spread throughout the tiny town of over 300 about the alligator. A friend of Reese’s family also saw the alligator and was able to take a photograph, which was provided to law enforcement. The woman asked not to be identified and has declined to be interviewed.
While there is an alligator population in McCurtain County in the southeast corner of the state, it’s rare to ever see an alligator in eastern Oklahoma.
State game wardens Cody Youngblood and Jared Cramer are taking the sighting serious.
Neither warden has seen the alligator but Cramer said he has received multiple reports of sightings. Both men believe the alligator was a pet and someone released it.
Read more in Sunday's Tulsa World.
By SHEILA STOGSDILL World Correspondent
http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx
Monday, March 14, 2011
Alligator Found Guarding Southern California Pot Farm
Mar 9, 2011 – 1:50 PM
Tori Richards
Contributor
HEMET, Calif. -- When police raided a pot farm in this Southern California desert community, they found an unusual watchdog -- a 4-foot alligator named Wally.
The 55-pound American alligator was found lounging Monday night in a black cement mixing tub located in the back area of a house where 2,285 plants were growing, police said. One man was arrested, and Wally was taken to an animal sanctuary, the Riverside Press-Enterprise reported.
The marijuana was valued at $1.5 million.
The raid happened after anonymous tips were given to police about a possible drug-dealing operation at this suburban tract home. Police visited the house and discovered the marijuana, then returned with a search warrant.
Resident John Nathan Donna, 29, was arrested on suspicion of possession of concentrated cannabis and cultivation of marijuana for sale, the Press-Enterprise reported.
As for Wally, he was turned over to the California Department of Fish and Game, which found a good foster home -- Forever Wild Exotic Animal Sanctuary, which rescues captive-bred animals such as big cats, reptiles and birds. It is illegal to own alligators in California.
Wally is the same type of alligator found in the Florida Everglades.
"He was extremely healthy -- a little too well taken care of," said Joel Almquist, who runs the sanctuary. "It's still an alligator; some are pretty mellow, but if you get bit by a 3-footer, you're going to remember it for a long time. It's kind of like being bit by a vise with teeth. It's not a pleasant experience."
http://www.aolnews.com/2011/03/09/alligator-found-guarding-southern-california-pot-farm/
Friday, February 25, 2011
Brazilian woman finds alligator behind sofa
24 February 2011
A woman in Brazil was shocked to find an alligator hiding behind her sofa after heavy rains flooded her house in the town of Parauapebas, in Para state.
She said she was alerted to the reptile's presence by her three-year-old son, who was patting its head.
The woman snatched the child away and called the fire brigade, who trapped the 1.5m-long (5ft) alligator.
The firefighters said the family was lucky the reptile was not hungry.
Firefighter Captain Luiz Claudio Farias said it could have seriously hurt or even killed the boy.
Capt Farias said it was not uncommon for animals such as alligators and snakes to enter people's houses in towns such as Parauapebas which are built very near rivers and the rainforest.
He said the reptile had been released in a less populated area of the town.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-12562018
A woman in Brazil was shocked to find an alligator hiding behind her sofa after heavy rains flooded her house in the town of Parauapebas, in Para state.
She said she was alerted to the reptile's presence by her three-year-old son, who was patting its head.
The woman snatched the child away and called the fire brigade, who trapped the 1.5m-long (5ft) alligator.
The firefighters said the family was lucky the reptile was not hungry.
Firefighter Captain Luiz Claudio Farias said it could have seriously hurt or even killed the boy.
Capt Farias said it was not uncommon for animals such as alligators and snakes to enter people's houses in towns such as Parauapebas which are built very near rivers and the rainforest.
He said the reptile had been released in a less populated area of the town.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-12562018
Monday, January 10, 2011
Orange Gator Discovered in Florida, But Is It a Dye Job?
 |
| Sylvia Mythen, a 74-year-old woman from Venice, Fla., snapped the photo of this orange alligator sunning itself by a pond near her home. Florida Wildlife Commission experts have analyzed the photo and determined that the reptile's coloring is not genetic. Officials suspect the animal might be the victim of a prank but won't know for sure until they can examine it. Sylvia Mythen, AP. |
Dave Thier
Contributor
College football fans know the Florida Gators are orange and blue, but that, of course, is just a uniform.
In the wild, Florida alligators are a grayish black on top, with a lighter-colored belly. Usually.
One alligator in Venice, Fla., defies that rule. On Tuesday, 74-year-old Sylvia Mythen discovered an orange alligator sunning itself in a pond near her home, and it was so surprising that she had to get her camera.
After Mythen snapped the photo, she contacted her local news station and a biologist. But really, she just wanted to show her grandkids in Indiana.
"I thought, 'This is great. ... I'm going to snap a picture and send it to my grandkids so they think I'm one of the coolest grandmas in Florida,' " she told ABC 7.
Originally, the biologist thought the alligator could be part albino, but experts with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission have analyzed the images, and they have determined that the animal's coloring is not genetic. They suspect that the gator's coloring came from something in the environment.
Mud is a possibility, but Mythen is skeptical.
"If it was mud, he did a good job of covering himself ... every nook and cranny," she says.
Geoff Isles, district manager for an wildlife control company in Sarasota, Fla., is stymied.
"I would have no idea how to dye an alligator -- especially a normal skin-toned alligator in his natural state," he told AOL News. "Their skin is just so extremely thick that I don't know how, short of tattooing, you would get it that color."
He suspects a prank, especially considering the animal's strangely similar tone to the university mascot. The only way he said he could think of getting that done would be by using spray paint.
Theories abound, but until experts get their hands on the animal itself, it seems unlikely they'll be able to say anything definitive. Until then, maybe look for a UF fan with a few missing fingers and some empty cans of orange spray paint.
Orange Gator Discovered in Florida, But Is It a Dye Job?
|
| Sylvia Mythen, a 74-year-old woman from Venice, Fla., snapped the photo of this orange alligator sunning itself by a pond near her home. Florida Wildlife Commission experts have analyzed the photo and determined that the reptile's coloring is not genetic. Officials suspect the animal might be the victim of a prank but won't know for sure until they can examine it. Sylvia Mythen, AP. |
Dave Thier
Contributor
College football fans know the Florida Gators are orange and blue, but that, of course, is just a uniform.
In the wild, Florida alligators are a grayish black on top, with a lighter-colored belly. Usually.
One alligator in Venice, Fla., defies that rule. On Tuesday, 74-year-old Sylvia Mythen discovered an orange alligator sunning itself in a pond near her home, and it was so surprising that she had to get her camera.
After Mythen snapped the photo, she contacted her local news station and a biologist. But really, she just wanted to show her grandkids in Indiana.
"I thought, 'This is great. ... I'm going to snap a picture and send it to my grandkids so they think I'm one of the coolest grandmas in Florida,' " she told ABC 7.
Originally, the biologist thought the alligator could be part albino, but experts with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission have analyzed the images, and they have determined that the animal's coloring is not genetic. They suspect that the gator's coloring came from something in the environment.
Mud is a possibility, but Mythen is skeptical.
"If it was mud, he did a good job of covering himself ... every nook and cranny," she says.
Geoff Isles, district manager for an wildlife control company in Sarasota, Fla., is stymied.
"I would have no idea how to dye an alligator -- especially a normal skin-toned alligator in his natural state," he told AOL News. "Their skin is just so extremely thick that I don't know how, short of tattooing, you would get it that color."
He suspects a prank, especially considering the animal's strangely similar tone to the university mascot. The only way he said he could think of getting that done would be by using spray paint.
Theories abound, but until experts get their hands on the animal itself, it seems unlikely they'll be able to say anything definitive. Until then, maybe look for a UF fan with a few missing fingers and some empty cans of orange spray paint.
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Gators Thriving Along Georgia's coast
KBTX (Bryan, Georgia) 12/13/10
Brunswick, Ga.: There's a population explosion on the Georgia coast -- of alligators.
The reptiles are being spotted on roads, in backyard pools and even sunbathing on the beaches. The Brunswick News reports state wildlife officials put the number of gators at well over 200,000.
Unregulated hunting and poaching pushed the creatures to endangered status in the late 60's. Now, there are so many gators, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources is proposing a management plan.
The plan includes using money from gator hunting permits to fund wildlife watching areas.
From: Herp Digest, Volume # 10 Issue # 55 12/21/10
Brunswick, Ga.: There's a population explosion on the Georgia coast -- of alligators.
The reptiles are being spotted on roads, in backyard pools and even sunbathing on the beaches. The Brunswick News reports state wildlife officials put the number of gators at well over 200,000.
Unregulated hunting and poaching pushed the creatures to endangered status in the late 60's. Now, there are so many gators, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources is proposing a management plan.
The plan includes using money from gator hunting permits to fund wildlife watching areas.
From: Herp Digest, Volume # 10 Issue # 55 12/21/10
Gators Thriving Along Georgia's coast
KBTX (Bryan, Georgia) 12/13/10
Brunswick, Ga.: There's a population explosion on the Georgia coast -- of alligators.
The reptiles are being spotted on roads, in backyard pools and even sunbathing on the beaches. The Brunswick News reports state wildlife officials put the number of gators at well over 200,000.
Unregulated hunting and poaching pushed the creatures to endangered status in the late 60's. Now, there are so many gators, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources is proposing a management plan.
The plan includes using money from gator hunting permits to fund wildlife watching areas.
From: Herp Digest, Volume # 10 Issue # 55 12/21/10
Brunswick, Ga.: There's a population explosion on the Georgia coast -- of alligators.
The reptiles are being spotted on roads, in backyard pools and even sunbathing on the beaches. The Brunswick News reports state wildlife officials put the number of gators at well over 200,000.
Unregulated hunting and poaching pushed the creatures to endangered status in the late 60's. Now, there are so many gators, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources is proposing a management plan.
The plan includes using money from gator hunting permits to fund wildlife watching areas.
From: Herp Digest, Volume # 10 Issue # 55 12/21/10
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Video Cat takes on two alligators
By Daniel Bird
A Louisiana cat has become a YouTube star after showing not one but two alligators who the king of the swamp really is.
With a jab that Audley Harrison would have be proud of, the feline was filmed hitting its foe with two clean swipes before the reptile retreated.
Down but not out, the alligator returned with a friend to take on the fearless feline but the cat stood its ground and delivered a swift left paw that sent the reptiles scuttling back to the swamp.
The onlookers who filmed the showdown were left stunned by the event. One can be heard saying "that cat has no fear" while another describes the attack as "unbelievable".
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newsvideo/weirdnewsvideo/8142438/Cat-takes-on-two-alligators.html
A Louisiana cat has become a YouTube star after showing not one but two alligators who the king of the swamp really is.
With a jab that Audley Harrison would have be proud of, the feline was filmed hitting its foe with two clean swipes before the reptile retreated.
Down but not out, the alligator returned with a friend to take on the fearless feline but the cat stood its ground and delivered a swift left paw that sent the reptiles scuttling back to the swamp.
The onlookers who filmed the showdown were left stunned by the event. One can be heard saying "that cat has no fear" while another describes the attack as "unbelievable".
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newsvideo/weirdnewsvideo/8142438/Cat-takes-on-two-alligators.html
Video Cat takes on two alligators
By Daniel Bird
A Louisiana cat has become a YouTube star after showing not one but two alligators who the king of the swamp really is.
With a jab that Audley Harrison would have be proud of, the feline was filmed hitting its foe with two clean swipes before the reptile retreated.
Down but not out, the alligator returned with a friend to take on the fearless feline but the cat stood its ground and delivered a swift left paw that sent the reptiles scuttling back to the swamp.
The onlookers who filmed the showdown were left stunned by the event. One can be heard saying "that cat has no fear" while another describes the attack as "unbelievable".
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newsvideo/weirdnewsvideo/8142438/Cat-takes-on-two-alligators.html
A Louisiana cat has become a YouTube star after showing not one but two alligators who the king of the swamp really is.
With a jab that Audley Harrison would have be proud of, the feline was filmed hitting its foe with two clean swipes before the reptile retreated.
Down but not out, the alligator returned with a friend to take on the fearless feline but the cat stood its ground and delivered a swift left paw that sent the reptiles scuttling back to the swamp.
The onlookers who filmed the showdown were left stunned by the event. One can be heard saying "that cat has no fear" while another describes the attack as "unbelievable".
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newsvideo/weirdnewsvideo/8142438/Cat-takes-on-two-alligators.html
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Gator sobers up in drunk tank
Published: Oct. 7, 2010 at 1:22 PM
PIERRELATTE, France, Oct. 7 (UPI) -- French police said an escaped alligator was brought in by a woman and spent the night in the jail's drunk tank.
Police in Pierrelatte said a woman found the Chinese alligator, which measured only about 3 feet long, outside of a restaurant Tuesday and brought it to the police station, Radio France Internationale reported Thursday.
The reptile, which does not have strong enough jaws to attack humans, spent the night in a cell designed for drunk suspects and the following day was returned to a nearby crocodile farm.
Samuel Martin, who runs the crocodile farm, said the alligator escaped two months ago with another reptile that is still on the loose.
http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2010/10/07/Gator-sobers-up-in-drunk-tank/UPI-82281286472166/
PIERRELATTE, France, Oct. 7 (UPI) -- French police said an escaped alligator was brought in by a woman and spent the night in the jail's drunk tank.
Police in Pierrelatte said a woman found the Chinese alligator, which measured only about 3 feet long, outside of a restaurant Tuesday and brought it to the police station, Radio France Internationale reported Thursday.
The reptile, which does not have strong enough jaws to attack humans, spent the night in a cell designed for drunk suspects and the following day was returned to a nearby crocodile farm.
Samuel Martin, who runs the crocodile farm, said the alligator escaped two months ago with another reptile that is still on the loose.
http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2010/10/07/Gator-sobers-up-in-drunk-tank/UPI-82281286472166/
Gator sobers up in drunk tank
Published: Oct. 7, 2010 at 1:22 PM
PIERRELATTE, France, Oct. 7 (UPI) -- French police said an escaped alligator was brought in by a woman and spent the night in the jail's drunk tank.
Police in Pierrelatte said a woman found the Chinese alligator, which measured only about 3 feet long, outside of a restaurant Tuesday and brought it to the police station, Radio France Internationale reported Thursday.
The reptile, which does not have strong enough jaws to attack humans, spent the night in a cell designed for drunk suspects and the following day was returned to a nearby crocodile farm.
Samuel Martin, who runs the crocodile farm, said the alligator escaped two months ago with another reptile that is still on the loose.
http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2010/10/07/Gator-sobers-up-in-drunk-tank/UPI-82281286472166/
PIERRELATTE, France, Oct. 7 (UPI) -- French police said an escaped alligator was brought in by a woman and spent the night in the jail's drunk tank.
Police in Pierrelatte said a woman found the Chinese alligator, which measured only about 3 feet long, outside of a restaurant Tuesday and brought it to the police station, Radio France Internationale reported Thursday.
The reptile, which does not have strong enough jaws to attack humans, spent the night in a cell designed for drunk suspects and the following day was returned to a nearby crocodile farm.
Samuel Martin, who runs the crocodile farm, said the alligator escaped two months ago with another reptile that is still on the loose.
http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2010/10/07/Gator-sobers-up-in-drunk-tank/UPI-82281286472166/
Monday, September 6, 2010
Scientists Research Alligators, Chickens (Via HerpDigest)
Scientists Research Alligators, Chickens
Daytona BeachDaily News, Daytona Beach, FL, August 31, 2010 http://www.ntdaily.com/?p=10663 for video of baby gators
Muffled chirps squeak out from behind the door of a climate-controlled, windowless storage closet on the second floor of Life Sciences Building B.
"They're calling for their mother," said biology graduate student Ryan Moore, leaning against a refrigerator-sized incubator filled with un-hatched alligator eggs. "Lucky for us, she's not here."
Two rooms over, dozens of chicken eggs sit nestled in the comfort of a regulated incubator of their own, rotating automatically every two hours.
Both animals are part of an ongoing physiological research project comparing the metabolic rates of different bird species, said Sarah Goy, a biology graduate student heading the egg incubation portion of the project. Researchers hope to gain a better understanding of the development of human lungs.
"Surprisingly, chickens and alligators are closely related," Goy said. "Birds are direct descendants of dinosaurs."
The study focuses on the process through which animals regulate body temperature. It will compare the development of the endothermic metabolic processes of developing chickens with the exothermic processes of developing alligators, Goy said.
Humans are endothermic - they generate their own heat - and the development of chickens in the egg closely resembles the development of human babies in the womb, Goy said. But unlike humans, chickens emerge with the ability to walk, search for food and function independently.
"Aside from their appearance, they're essentially small adult chickens," Goy said.
For other birds, the development process more closely resembles that of humans.
"It takes robins a week to develop the ability to regulate their own body temperature," Goy said. "They're born blind and cannot function on their own."
The alligators serve as the negative control for the study, Goy said. Their metabolic rates remain stable because their body heat is generated from their surroundings. That data is then compared with the chickens and other bird species to provide analysis of the development of the metabolic process.
Preparation for the study began earlier this summer.
The 200 alligator eggs were picked up from the Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge in Arkansas on July 17 and were immediately put in the incubator upon arrival at UNT, said Edward Dzialowski, the biology faculty member heading the research. They stayed at a constant temperature of 32 degrees Celsius and began hatching during the first week of August.
The chirping hasn't stopped since.
"It was quite incredible," Goy said. "The first egg actually hatched in someone's hand. It is a fantastic process to watch."
The alligators are two weeks old and several will be kept for as long as a year for further analyses, but most will be humanely put to sleep to allow scientists to study their internal organs.
Dzialowski said aside from the scientific value of the study, projects like this are great opportunities for students to gain valuable experience.
"It is a valuable thing what an undergrad can do in a lab and get hands-on experience that you wouldn't have received in class," Dzialowski said. "Your prospects are much higher. Anything a student can do to be involved in research should be encouraged."
Daytona BeachDaily News, Daytona Beach, FL, August 31, 2010 http://www.ntdaily.com/?p=10663 for video of baby gators
Muffled chirps squeak out from behind the door of a climate-controlled, windowless storage closet on the second floor of Life Sciences Building B.
"They're calling for their mother," said biology graduate student Ryan Moore, leaning against a refrigerator-sized incubator filled with un-hatched alligator eggs. "Lucky for us, she's not here."
Two rooms over, dozens of chicken eggs sit nestled in the comfort of a regulated incubator of their own, rotating automatically every two hours.
Both animals are part of an ongoing physiological research project comparing the metabolic rates of different bird species, said Sarah Goy, a biology graduate student heading the egg incubation portion of the project. Researchers hope to gain a better understanding of the development of human lungs.
"Surprisingly, chickens and alligators are closely related," Goy said. "Birds are direct descendants of dinosaurs."
The study focuses on the process through which animals regulate body temperature. It will compare the development of the endothermic metabolic processes of developing chickens with the exothermic processes of developing alligators, Goy said.
Humans are endothermic - they generate their own heat - and the development of chickens in the egg closely resembles the development of human babies in the womb, Goy said. But unlike humans, chickens emerge with the ability to walk, search for food and function independently.
"Aside from their appearance, they're essentially small adult chickens," Goy said.
For other birds, the development process more closely resembles that of humans.
"It takes robins a week to develop the ability to regulate their own body temperature," Goy said. "They're born blind and cannot function on their own."
The alligators serve as the negative control for the study, Goy said. Their metabolic rates remain stable because their body heat is generated from their surroundings. That data is then compared with the chickens and other bird species to provide analysis of the development of the metabolic process.
Preparation for the study began earlier this summer.
The 200 alligator eggs were picked up from the Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge in Arkansas on July 17 and were immediately put in the incubator upon arrival at UNT, said Edward Dzialowski, the biology faculty member heading the research. They stayed at a constant temperature of 32 degrees Celsius and began hatching during the first week of August.
The chirping hasn't stopped since.
"It was quite incredible," Goy said. "The first egg actually hatched in someone's hand. It is a fantastic process to watch."
The alligators are two weeks old and several will be kept for as long as a year for further analyses, but most will be humanely put to sleep to allow scientists to study their internal organs.
Dzialowski said aside from the scientific value of the study, projects like this are great opportunities for students to gain valuable experience.
"It is a valuable thing what an undergrad can do in a lab and get hands-on experience that you wouldn't have received in class," Dzialowski said. "Your prospects are much higher. Anything a student can do to be involved in research should be encouraged."
Scientists Research Alligators, Chickens (Via HerpDigest)
Scientists Research Alligators, Chickens
Daytona BeachDaily News, Daytona Beach, FL, August 31, 2010 http://www.ntdaily.com/?p=10663 for video of baby gators
Muffled chirps squeak out from behind the door of a climate-controlled, windowless storage closet on the second floor of Life Sciences Building B.
"They're calling for their mother," said biology graduate student Ryan Moore, leaning against a refrigerator-sized incubator filled with un-hatched alligator eggs. "Lucky for us, she's not here."
Two rooms over, dozens of chicken eggs sit nestled in the comfort of a regulated incubator of their own, rotating automatically every two hours.
Both animals are part of an ongoing physiological research project comparing the metabolic rates of different bird species, said Sarah Goy, a biology graduate student heading the egg incubation portion of the project. Researchers hope to gain a better understanding of the development of human lungs.
"Surprisingly, chickens and alligators are closely related," Goy said. "Birds are direct descendants of dinosaurs."
The study focuses on the process through which animals regulate body temperature. It will compare the development of the endothermic metabolic processes of developing chickens with the exothermic processes of developing alligators, Goy said.
Humans are endothermic - they generate their own heat - and the development of chickens in the egg closely resembles the development of human babies in the womb, Goy said. But unlike humans, chickens emerge with the ability to walk, search for food and function independently.
"Aside from their appearance, they're essentially small adult chickens," Goy said.
For other birds, the development process more closely resembles that of humans.
"It takes robins a week to develop the ability to regulate their own body temperature," Goy said. "They're born blind and cannot function on their own."
The alligators serve as the negative control for the study, Goy said. Their metabolic rates remain stable because their body heat is generated from their surroundings. That data is then compared with the chickens and other bird species to provide analysis of the development of the metabolic process.
Preparation for the study began earlier this summer.
The 200 alligator eggs were picked up from the Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge in Arkansas on July 17 and were immediately put in the incubator upon arrival at UNT, said Edward Dzialowski, the biology faculty member heading the research. They stayed at a constant temperature of 32 degrees Celsius and began hatching during the first week of August.
The chirping hasn't stopped since.
"It was quite incredible," Goy said. "The first egg actually hatched in someone's hand. It is a fantastic process to watch."
The alligators are two weeks old and several will be kept for as long as a year for further analyses, but most will be humanely put to sleep to allow scientists to study their internal organs.
Dzialowski said aside from the scientific value of the study, projects like this are great opportunities for students to gain valuable experience.
"It is a valuable thing what an undergrad can do in a lab and get hands-on experience that you wouldn't have received in class," Dzialowski said. "Your prospects are much higher. Anything a student can do to be involved in research should be encouraged."
Daytona BeachDaily News, Daytona Beach, FL, August 31, 2010 http://www.ntdaily.com/?p=10663 for video of baby gators
Muffled chirps squeak out from behind the door of a climate-controlled, windowless storage closet on the second floor of Life Sciences Building B.
"They're calling for their mother," said biology graduate student Ryan Moore, leaning against a refrigerator-sized incubator filled with un-hatched alligator eggs. "Lucky for us, she's not here."
Two rooms over, dozens of chicken eggs sit nestled in the comfort of a regulated incubator of their own, rotating automatically every two hours.
Both animals are part of an ongoing physiological research project comparing the metabolic rates of different bird species, said Sarah Goy, a biology graduate student heading the egg incubation portion of the project. Researchers hope to gain a better understanding of the development of human lungs.
"Surprisingly, chickens and alligators are closely related," Goy said. "Birds are direct descendants of dinosaurs."
The study focuses on the process through which animals regulate body temperature. It will compare the development of the endothermic metabolic processes of developing chickens with the exothermic processes of developing alligators, Goy said.
Humans are endothermic - they generate their own heat - and the development of chickens in the egg closely resembles the development of human babies in the womb, Goy said. But unlike humans, chickens emerge with the ability to walk, search for food and function independently.
"Aside from their appearance, they're essentially small adult chickens," Goy said.
For other birds, the development process more closely resembles that of humans.
"It takes robins a week to develop the ability to regulate their own body temperature," Goy said. "They're born blind and cannot function on their own."
The alligators serve as the negative control for the study, Goy said. Their metabolic rates remain stable because their body heat is generated from their surroundings. That data is then compared with the chickens and other bird species to provide analysis of the development of the metabolic process.
Preparation for the study began earlier this summer.
The 200 alligator eggs were picked up from the Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge in Arkansas on July 17 and were immediately put in the incubator upon arrival at UNT, said Edward Dzialowski, the biology faculty member heading the research. They stayed at a constant temperature of 32 degrees Celsius and began hatching during the first week of August.
The chirping hasn't stopped since.
"It was quite incredible," Goy said. "The first egg actually hatched in someone's hand. It is a fantastic process to watch."
The alligators are two weeks old and several will be kept for as long as a year for further analyses, but most will be humanely put to sleep to allow scientists to study their internal organs.
Dzialowski said aside from the scientific value of the study, projects like this are great opportunities for students to gain valuable experience.
"It is a valuable thing what an undergrad can do in a lab and get hands-on experience that you wouldn't have received in class," Dzialowski said. "Your prospects are much higher. Anything a student can do to be involved in research should be encouraged."
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
1 Million Fish Dead in Bolivian Ecological Disaster
Over 1 million fish and thousands of alligators, turtles, dolphins and other river wildlife are floating dead in numerous Bolivian rivers in the three eastern/southern departments of Santa Cruz, Beni and Tarija. The extreme cold front that hit Bolivia in mid-July caused water temperatures to dip below the minimum temperatures river life can tolerate. As a consequence, rivers, lakes, lagoons and fisheries are brimming with decomposing fish and other creatures.
Unprecedented: Nothing like this has ever been seen in this magnitude in Bolivia. Inhabitants of riverside communities report the smell is nauseating and can be detected as far as a kilometer away from river banks. River communities, whose livelihoods depend on fishing, fear they'll run out of food and will have nothing to sell. Authorities are concerned there will be a shortage of fish in markets and are more concerned by possible threats to public health, especially in communities that also use river water for bathing and drinking, but also fear contaminated or decaying fish may end up in market stalls. They've begun a campaign to ensure market vendors and the public know how to tell the difference between fresh and unhealthy fish.
In university fish ponds and commercial fisheries the losses are also catastrophic.
Read more at: http://www.boliviabella.com/1-million-fish-dead-in-bolivian-ecological-disaster.html
Unprecedented: Nothing like this has ever been seen in this magnitude in Bolivia. Inhabitants of riverside communities report the smell is nauseating and can be detected as far as a kilometer away from river banks. River communities, whose livelihoods depend on fishing, fear they'll run out of food and will have nothing to sell. Authorities are concerned there will be a shortage of fish in markets and are more concerned by possible threats to public health, especially in communities that also use river water for bathing and drinking, but also fear contaminated or decaying fish may end up in market stalls. They've begun a campaign to ensure market vendors and the public know how to tell the difference between fresh and unhealthy fish.
In university fish ponds and commercial fisheries the losses are also catastrophic.
Read more at: http://www.boliviabella.com/1-million-fish-dead-in-bolivian-ecological-disaster.html
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
GOTCHA! Chicago River alligator in custody
The alligator is captured this morning. (Alex Garcia / Tribune)
August 24, 2010The 3-foot alligator was floating with his eyes just above the murky waters of the Chicago River on a little before noon today when he was spotted underneath the Belmont Avenue bridge.
Bob the alligator wrangler said he paddled over as the alligator submerged. He took out a long pole with a net attached to one end and cornered the alligator between the curb and the net.
"It had no choice but to go in the net," said "Alligator Bob," who doesn't like to give out his last name.
He then scooped the creature out of the water and into his canoe and put it inside a sack as onlookers on the shore applauded.
Bob said the alligator will be kept for 60 to 90 days at an "undisclosed place, for the animal's safety." He will then contact organizations in Florida that are willing to take it.
"It was a quiet capture," he said to a couple who wondered how he did it.
"I was hoping to feed her to him," said the man, jokingly referring to his female companion.
"There is nothing to feed him with," said Bob, giving the woman a compliment.
Bob put the American alligator inside a plastic container and went back to the river to retrieve his traps.
Eric Wagner, 48, walked by hoping to see the creature with his binoculars before work, but he was a half-hour too late.
"I just missed it," Wagner said. "It would have been cool to see (the catch). But you know, I saw (the alligator) yesterday."
Bob, a volunteer with the Chicago Herpetological Society, returned with the last of his five traps. He wore the same khaki shorts and brown boots from the day before and a fresh shirt. Now, however, the shorts were damp and slightly dirty, and the boots were soaked.
"It's physically exhausting but enjoyable," Bob said, adding that he slept for only two hours the night before. He said he feels the same way as when someone saves a turtle or avoids running over a snake.
"It feels good. ... I am excited because of the fact that this is an animal that would have died otherwise," Bob said.
Officials at the Chicago Commission on Animal Care and Control confirmed the capture.
Also known as "Alligator Bob," Bob has volunteered with the Chicago Herpetological Society for about 20 years and has rescued more than 70 alligators from Illinois and Wisconsin waterways, he said.
That gives him a celebrity status he doesn't want, which is why he doesn't give out his last name. The last time he did, Bob said, he got calls from people all over the country asking him to take in their animals.
"I am just a volunteer," he said, noting that he took a day off work to go gator trapping.
It was the second time this month Bob had been called out to the same spot. On Aug. 6, he rescued a 2½-foot-long alligator he believes was once a pet, just like the one he caught Tuesday. This time, officials called him after Sararose Krenger and her family spotted a 3- to 5-foot gator basking in the sun along the riverbank as they took a boat ride on Sunday.
"My father said, 'There's an alligator,' and we said, 'Pretty funny,' but there really was an alligator there," Krenger said. "We thought it was pretty cool.
"He was chilling there, there were ducks floating by. ... He was eyeing the ducks and moved his tail a little bit and decided not to go for it. The ducks were swimming closer, so we didn't know if they were just messing with him."
Krenger said that as they sat watching the alligator about 5:30 p.m. Sunday, they called police, who responded along with animal control officers.
On Monday, Bob had set the five traps baited with chicken drumsticks. That didn't work.
Hoping to be there when he caught it, a small audience gathered Monday on the river's west side walkway. Every now and again, a passer-by would join the group and ask, "Has he caught him yet?"
It has become a sort of summer ritual for Bob as owners release their pet alligators to the river when they get too big, about 2 to 3 feet long.
"This one probably bit the owner," said Bob, who tries to protect the reptiles he finds. "Why kill the poor thing? It is a living animal."
As Bob spoke Monday afternoon, Jeff Nolan roamed the waters on his 15-foot boat trying to locate the alligator. He was fishing in Bridgeport on Monday morning when he got a call from a friend telling him about the alligator, so he decided to head upriver to try to catch the animal.
"I almost did," Nolan said, but it got away. "It would have given me bragging rights for the rest of the season."
Bob, annoyed at Nolan, asked him to leave the animal alone and mumbled that he was scaring the alligator The waters need to be calm for the alligator to come out and feed, Bob explained.
By 3:30 p.m. Monday, Bob had set his five traps along both sides of the river. If the traps were underwater, the alligator would drown, he explained, so he made sure they stayed afloat.
"Hopefully, it likes chicken," Bob said.
On the shore, a crowd was gathering again after it thinned during lunchtime. Three young entrepreneurs, ages 8, 10 and 11, were busy selling cold lemonade and Rice Krispies treats for 25 cents each.
Jacob Berry, 10, said his mother's friend had given them the idea. She had also taken photos of the gator, and they were debating how much to charge for the prints.
"$5?" asked Ryan Lin-Peistrup, 11.
"No, 50 cents," said Caleb Berry, 8, Jacob's younger brother.
"$1.50 -- that's fair," said Jacob, settling the issue.
Jacob left to get the photos as Ryan spotted his little sister walking toward him with their dad, who was trying to persuade Ryan to let his little sister help out.
"Fine," Ryan said. "But she won't get in the press."
Carlos Sadovi contributed to this report.
-- Alejandra Cancino
Trib Nation looks at why the alligator story is compelling HERE.
Click HERE for a WGN-TV report on this story.
http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2010/08/alligator-spotted-on-north-branch-of-chicago-river.html
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