NYC Parks staff captured a roughly 4-foot alligator from Prospect Park Lake in Brooklyn on Sunday, Feb. 19, 2023. The alligator was eventually transported to the Bronx Zoo for rehabilitation. (NYC Parks)
It’s no urban legend: An alligator was found in a chilly New York City lake on Sunday, far from the subtropical and tropical climates where such creatures thrive.
The 4-foot (1.2-meter) reptile was pulled from Prospect Park Lake in Brooklyn around 8:30 a.m. and taken to an animal care center and then the Bronx Zoo for medical treatment and rehabilitation.
City officials said the gator appeared lethargic and possibly cold-shocked. It was likely dumped as an unwanted pet, they said. Releasing animals in city parks is illegal. Police are investigating.
For years, New Yorkers have pondered the myth that alligators roam the city’s sewer system, even celebrating Alligators in the Sewers Day as an unofficial February holiday.
Sightings like Sunday’s help keep the urban legend alive, but experts throw cold water on the sewer theory. Alligators aren’t suited to the sewer system's frigid, toxic environment, they say.
The teenager was airlifted to a hospital Tuesday for injuries including nine broken vertebrae, a ruptured spleen, a collapsed lung and a concussion. He was discharged Saturday.
Authorities are also warning that the effort to find and identify the dead is just beginning. Maui Police Chief John Pelletier said Saturday that crews with cadaver dogs have covered just 3% of the search area.
Some doctors say the drug should be held for three weeks before sedation to accommodate the delayed emptying of the stomach, which can cause patients to inhale food and liquid into their lungs.
