How many loose alligators do we have around here anyway?
Alle-Kiski Valley residents with frontage along the Kiski River can breathe a little easier this week, after news that the alligator seen several times over the past week was caught by kayakers Sunday and turned over to humane officers.
But a quick internet search reveals that police searching for loose gators is, well, more common than one might think.
How many?
First, some perspective. In a 2020 National Geographic story — appropriately titled “Alligators make terrible pets,” about two gators that authorities found just hanging out in a Kansas City creek — the number of pet alligators was estimated in some U.S. regions. There were at least 50 in Phoenix; more than 50 were surrendered annually to authorities in Chicago; and the state of Michigan estimated there were 5,000 alligators kept in the state as pets.
Pennsylvania does not have any official estimates for the number of pet gators in the Keystone State, but if the news is any indication, there seems to be no lack of large, scaly reptiles around.
Loose gators in Pa.
• Berks County in Eastern Pennsylvania was dealing with its own wandering pet gator, discovered last week in Antietam Creek by a local landscaper.
“Fluffy,” the 2.5-foot alligator, was returned to its owner, who told humane officials it had escaped from an outdoor enclosure.
• A woman in the process of divorcing her husband in April called authorities because she did not want her soon-to-be-ex-husband’s 8-foot alligator — named “Big Mack” — living in their padlocked Philadelphia basement anymore.
The go-to quote from Animal Care & Control Team of Philadelphia’s Sarah Barnett: “You could hear him hissing.”
• Sometimes you get a best-case scenario: In March, reports of a 3-foot alligator in the Frankstown Branch Juniata River led a wildlife officer to discover that someone, either by accident or as a prank, had left a rubber alligator toy in the river.
But just in case you think that story is all sunshine and fun, it also mentions that, earlier in the month, a fisherman discovered a 5-foot caiman (a cousin to gators) living in a Philadelphia park.
• Finally, in April, a 2-foot alligator was spotted in Darby Creek in Upper Darby. Police spotted the reptile when someone, according to scanner audio obtained by the local CBS affiliate, “jumped into the river on the Yeadon side with a mask on, grabbed the alligator and is now running back down that trail. … I’ll be walking back there to see if I can see where he’s going.”
“Somebody just jumped into the river on the Yeadon side with a mask on, grabbed the alligator and is now running back down that trail….” “…COPY THAT.” — Tuesday night in Upper Darby with an alligator spotted in Darby Creek. @CBSPhiladelphia pic.twitter.com/nB3vJiJHNw
— Joe Holden (@JoeHoldenCBS3) July 12, 2023
