Is there really des alligators in the sewers of New York (UNITED STATES) ? What is certain is that there is now at least one on the surface. A statue paying homage to this urban legend was unveiled at the end of October in Union Square Parc, Manhattanreports the HuffPost.
The bronze work, created by Swedish artist Alexander Klingspor, will remain there until June 2024. “Having lived in Manhattan for more than ten years, I wanted to pay homage to this city that I love by representing one of his most popular urban legends,” explained the sculptorQuoted by CNN.
A lasting urban legend
“This work addresses two interesting aspects of our world,” continued the artist. “Our need for gods, myths and legends like any other civilization before ours; and our habit of creating invasive species by moving animals from their natural habitat into a human environment. »
The legend that alligators inhabit New York’s sewers dates back to the 1900s, when a sewer worker told the media that he had been bitten by one. reptiles. On February 9, 1935, three teenagers managed to capture an alligator in a drain, making February 9 officially “Sewer Alligator Day” in New York.
Abandoned “pet” animals
Since then, no alligators have been recorded or even seen in the sewers of the Big Apple. But the myth persists, even resulting in films on the subject. If the possession, sale and purchase of this animal is prohibited in New York, the delivery of alligators is authorized in the United States as long as the reptile is less than 50 cm.
So we sometimes find pet alligators in New York. Authorities regularly capture reptiles abandoned by their owners – but never from sewers, an environment far too cold and dirty for this animal. Last February, an alligator in very poor condition was rescued in Brooklyn, before dying, recalls the HuffPost.
2023-10-24 14:32:37
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