The four-foot-long reptile was pulled from the water in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park on Sunday after park officials spotted the animal. According to New York City Parks, the organization responsible for the city’s greenery, the animal was in poor condition, seemed lethargic and was probably in shock from the cold of the water. The animal has been taken to the Bronx Zoo to be examined. It is not known how the alligator is doing now.
Alligators do occur in the wild in the United States, but they typically live in much warmer states in the southeastern part of the country, such as Florida or South Carolina.
The crocodilian, who was reportedly named Godzilla, was probably dumped by someone. Leaving animals in city parks is illegal, so the police are investigating. “Parks are not a suitable environment for animals that do not naturally occur in these parks,” a spokesperson told a local news channel. “In addition to the potential danger to park visitors, releasing animals could lead to the elimination of naturally occurring species and unhealthy water quality.”
Visitors to the park were shocked to find the animal. “What? An alligator?” Vijay Jacob, a father of two, told the New York Post. “That’s pretty scary, as there are a lot of kids in this part of the park.”
