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.
An Idaho judge overseeing the trial of the man accused of fatally stabbing four University of Idaho students has banned members of the media and public from using cameras and audio recording devices in the courtroom.
Four people were injured after a man opened fire at a Walmart store in Beaver Creek, Ohio just outside of Dayton. The suspect then turned the gun on himself.
The leader of Hamas said that a truce agreement is close and would reportedly include a multi-day ceasefire and the release of at least 50 hostages in exchange for Palestinian women and children detained in Israel.
For years, Geoffrey Holt was known as a mobile home park groundskeeper in a small New Hampshire town. Now, he's being remembered as a millionaire who gave his $3.8 million fortune to the community.
