Alligator pictured
Police are still hunting an alligator that is between three and four feet long.
The gator was seen at Victor Crowell Park in New Jersey on Wednesday.
Alligator can be crafty
Despite police attempting to capture the alligator, the feat has not been easy based on police endeavors.
“This is a very novel thing for New Jersey. We don’t have alligators in the water. We’re not Florida,” Middlesex Borough police Lt. Thomas Falk told NJ Advance Media.
Alligators are more active in spring and summer
Officials have urged residents in areas native to alligators to be alert during the spring and summer months - when the creatures are most active.
"Right now, it's mating season and they're hungry. It's a pretty volatile combination when you put them together," Ron Peoples said to WESH.
"We're finding them in people's garages under the cars, because they're going from lake to lake. They're looking for love."
Owners abandoning exotic pets may be to blame
According to statements given to the Chicago Tribune by Dr. Ellen Boyd, who serves as an associate veterinarian at Animal House of Chicago, the discovery of a 5-foot-long alligator in Humboldt Park, Chicago, indicates that the reptile was probably obtained as a pet during its early stages.
Subsequently, it seems that the creature was deserted in its natural habitat once it grew too large to manage and care for adequately.
Boyd said in 2019: “The most common story is that people think it’s pretty cool to get an alligator when they’re small, and then as they grow it becomes very clear at some point that they can’t handle having this pet.
“Because either they’re embarrassed or they don’t know where to go, they just release them into the wild.”
Previous east coast alligator sightings
There have been previous alligator sightings in states such as Illinois, New York, and Connecticut, namely in 2019.
The popularity of exotic pet ownership is most likely to blame for this.
The regulations on whether it is permissible to possess an alligator as a pet and what permissions are necessary differ by state, but even in jurisdictions where alligators are banned to acquire, such as Illinois, gators have shown up and created havoc.
Community reacts to loose alligator
People have taken to X, formerly known as Twitter, to express their thoughts on the loose alligator.
Not an alligator being on the loose in Middlesex county like I don’t live in middlesex county 🥴🤦🏽♀️ Jesus
— T a y l o r . ♡ (@ImOnly_Taee) August 28, 2023
there’s really an alligator on the loose in jersey like tf which mf just abandoned their pet like that
— moneybagg mil$ (@trill_mils) August 29, 2023
