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.
A lawsuit announced on former player Ramon Diaz' behalf Wednesday is the 10th against Northwestern, the prestigious private university, since student journalists at The Daily Northwestern published an article on July 8 that suggested head coach Patrick Fitzgerald may have been aware of hazing, leading to his firing after 17 seasons.
The national average for gas prices stood at about $3.78 a gallon on Tuesday — about 25 cents higher than that seen one month ago, according to motor club AAA. While today's prices at the pump remain far lower than they were last year, when energy costs soared worldwide in the months following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, experts say such a jump is unusual.
The gunman who stormed a synagogue in the heart of Pittsburgh’s Jewish community and killed 11 worshippers will be sentenced to death for perpetrating the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S. history.
