Unexpectedly, this is the last thing you might find on a busy city street.
However, a surprised pedestrian in New York contacted emergency services upon seeing an alligator wandering along the road.
This 14-inch-long reptile, still under a year old, chose to conceal itself beneath a Datsun vehicle.
With some gentle persuasion, animal care specialists successfully removed the alligator after it was discovered by astonished members of the NYPD Emergency Service Unit.
Michael Pastore, the field operations director for Animal Care and Control, expressed his belief that the juvenile reptile was abandoned on the street due to regulations in New York State against the ownership of wild animals.
‘He made a few small yelps,’ Mr. Pastore reported to the New York Daily News.
‘And if anyone has watched a nature documentary, a baby alligator typically emits a tiny yelp to its mother when it finds itself in danger.’
The alligator is currently receiving care at the Animal Care and Control facility.
According to Richard Gentles, a representative for the center, it is likely that the alligator will be transferred to a licensed rehabilitator or a reptile sanctuary.
He noted that the agency rescues two to four alligators, crocodiles, or caimans from the city annually.
In 2006, a 15-inch alligator was apprehended at an apartment complex in Brooklyn.
A caiman, measuring 2 feet long, was discovered inhabiting a lake in Central Park back in 2001.
Over the years, whispers of alligators residing in the city’s sewers have circulated, yet no substantial proof has surfaced in recent times.
Meanwhile, New York isn’t the sole city in the U.S. experiencing alligator sightings, as residents in central Chicago recently spotted the midwest city’s second reptile in a month swimming through the Chicago River.
This 3-foot-long alligator has drawn crowds of inquisitive Chicago locals, eager to glimpse their unusual neighbor.
Earlier in the month, a volunteer from the Chicago Herpetological Society captured a 2.5-foot alligator; both are thought to be discarded pets.
The society is hopeful to capture the latest alligator soon, as survival through the harsh Chicago winter poses a significant challenge.
‘They believe they’re helping by releasing an alligator into the river, thinking it will thrive here,’ an animal wrangler known only as Bob told CBS News. ‘In reality, that’s not the case.’
Chicago’s Animal Care and Control branch is advising residents against purchasing alligators while emphasizing their ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell’ policy, which encourages owners unable to care for their pets to surrender them at a shelter instead of abandoning them.
