Alligator found in ‘lethargic’ state in New York

While alligators normally inhabit Florida and the tropical and humid southeastern United States, one of these reptiles was found living much further north, in a park in New York. The animal is in very poor condition, the city announced Monday.

The extremely rare discovery of the alligator, probably abandoned by its owner, was made Sunday morning in the pond of Prospect Park, the great green lung of the borough of Brooklyn, announced in a press release, supporting photographs, New York Parks and Recreation Department.

Rangers of the megacity’s green spaces pulled the 1.2-metre-long alligator out of the water, “in poor condition and very lethargic”, according to the statement. “Fortunately, no one was injured and the animal is under observation”, immediately sent to the Bronx zoo, another borough of New York.

Without naming or finding the person responsible for the incongruous presence in the city of the alligator, the green spaces department warned that “releasing animals in New York parks is illegal”.

The reptile, accustomed to “hot and tropical climates”, probably suffered “thermal shock” in the cold water of the Prospect Park pond, even though it was a pleasant 10 degrees Sunday morning in New York.

The last publicized discovery in New York of this type of crocodilian dates back to June 2001, when authorities, the press and the curious spent five days following the capture of a stray caiman in Central Park.

ats, afp