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Alligator in New York Park: "May lead to the elimination of native species"
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NYC PARKS/VIA REUTERS
Park staff in New York found and rescued a sick alligator in Brooklyn's Prospect Park this weekend.
Rangers caught the reptile and took it to the Bronx Zoo for care, Reuters reported.
Nobody was harmed in the action.
The alligator is most likely an unwanted pet, local news station PIX11 reported.
He was in poor condition and described by park officials as sluggish.
According to authorities, the alligator probably suffered a cold shock.
A spokesman for the authorities addressed the residents of the city with urgent words.
"Parks are not suitable homes for animals that are not native to these parks - domesticated or not." There is a "potential danger" for park visitors.
In addition, the abandonment of non-native animals or unwanted pets "can lead to the elimination of native species and unhealthy water quality".
Alligators typically live in tropical climates and are native to roughly the southeastern United States.
The recovered animal was said to be around 1.20 meters long.
Alligator attacks are rare in the United States, even in the states where the animals reside.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission counted only 442 unprovoked bite incidents in the state from 1948 to 2021, according to Reuters.
Park rangers are called out around 500 times a year in New York because residents report animals in poor condition, the news agency said.
A few alligators are actually among the rescued animals every year, as the New York Times reported some time ago.
"Typically ex-pets who were abandoned after they outgrew their cutesy phase," the report reads.
Sol/Reuters