Alligator abandoned pet

Man drops off 2-foot alligator he 'found' in Brooklyn park at police station

BY Edgar Sandoval, Lisa L. Colangelo

DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

 

 

                                                           Egan-Chin/News 

 

 

A man 'found' a 26-inch long alligator in a Brooklyn park and dropped it off to police on Sunday. The police doubt the story, saying it's more likely the critter was a scaly pet that got too big.

The city is going to the gators: Another baby alligator surfaced on the streets of New York over the weekend - and animal control officials are scrambling to find the cold-blooded critter a new home.

The 2-foot-long reptile - one ofa handful to pass through police custody recently - was dropped off Sunday afternoon at the NYPD's 88th Precinct stationhouse in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, by someone claiming to be a good Samaritan.

The "finder" said he happened upon the scaly stray in a Brooklyn park - but cops don't exactly buy that story, police sources said.

More likely, the sources said, the alligator got too big to be a pet, so the "finder" forked it over to cops. It is illegal to keep an alligator - or any other species of wild animal - as a pet in the city.

Besides, the not-so-little-anymore gator could get somewhat, er, snappy, said Mike Pastore, head of field operations for Animal Care & Control of New York City.

"He has teeth wrapped around his whole head," Pastore said. "He can definitely do some damage to someone."

Brooklynites were stunned to hear about the unusual pet.

"They can eat you," said Tina Wilson, 39, who lives near the precinct stationhouse. "You become lunch."

Kevin Lawrence, 27, said that if the beast was slithering around a city park, children could have been in danger.

"It's crazy and not safe," he said. "Those aren't animals to be pets."

Late last month, another baby alligator caused a headline-making stir when it showed up under a car in Astoria, Queens - one of three reptiles found in the city that day.

esandoval@nydailynews.com



Link: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/man-drops-2-foot-alligator-found-brooklyn-park-police-station-article-1.438615