If the alligators populate the Florida and the tropical and humid southeast of the UNITED STATES, it is much rarer to find them in other regions of the country. However, one of these reptiles was found alive in New York. The four-foot-long animal was in a park in Brooklyn, but was in poor health.
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. It was the New York Parks and Recreational Areas Department that announced it in a press release, with supporting photos.
Supported by the Bronx Zoo
Megacity green space rangers pulled the alligator out of theeau, “in a poor state and very lethargic,” according to the statement. “Fortunately no one was injured and the animal is under observation”, immediately sent to the zoo of the Bronx, another borough of New York.
Without designating or finding the person responsible for the incongruous presence of the alligator in town, the green spaces department warned that “releasing animals in New York parks is illegal. The animal, 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 the city.
An unsuitable environment
“Parks are not suitable habitats for this type of animal, whether domestic or not.” This “can be dangerous for walkers […]causing the disappearance of natural species and altering the quality of water”.
The last publicized discovery in New York of this type of reptile 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. New York rangers respond to some 500 animal health reports a year.
