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Alligator captured in Brooklyn's Prospect Park Lake continues to be evaluated
By
Jessica Gould
Published Feb 19, 2023
Modified Feb 20, 2023
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NYC Parks and Recreation Department
By
Jessica Gould
Published Feb 19, 2023
Modified Feb 20, 2023
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A 4-foot-long alligator pulled out of Prospect Park Lake continued to be evaluated at the Bronx Zoo health center on Monday, with still no word on how it ended up in Brooklyn.
"The alligator continues to be evaluated at the Bronx Zoo health center," Max Pulsinelli, executive director for communications, WCS Zoos and Aquarium, wrote in a text to Gothamist.
The reptile, described as "very lethargic" and possibly "cold shocked" by the cold weather, was spotted by park maintenance staff Sunday morning and subsequently captured by Parks Enforcement and Urban Park Rangers. It was taken to Animal Care Centers of NYC (ACC) (nycacc.org) of New York before being transferred to the Bronx Zoo. Along the way, it picked up a moniker: "Godzilla."
"We're grateful to our Parks Enforcement Patrol and Urban Park Rangers who snapped into action to capture and transport the alligator," Dan Kastanis, NYC parks senior press officer, said in a statement.
The discovery prompted assorted quips on social media.
"A FOUR foot alligator in Prospect Park?? Back in the day they used to be eight feet. Geez," Assembly member Brian Cunningham, D-Brooklyn, wrote on Twitter.
But parks officials were unamused.
"Parks are not suitable homes for animals not indigenous to those parks--domesticated or otherwise," Kastanis said in the statement. "In addition to the potential danger to park goers this could have cause, releasing non-indigenous animals or unwanted pets can lead to the elimination of native species and unhealthy water quality."
He added: "In this case the animal was found very lethargic and possibly cold shocked since it is native to warm, tropical climates."
The northernmost part of the American alligator’s natural habitat is North Carolina, and they can grow up to 12 feet in length, according to The National Wildlife Federation.
Parks officials told NY1 that they had named the alligator “Godzilla.” There was no word Monday on how long the alligator had been in the park or how it got there.
It is not the first non-native reptile found in city parks.
In June 2001, an off duty police officer and his two children spotted what they thought was an alligator in the Harlem Meer. That sighting started a citywide hunt for the animal. Five days after the first sighting, a 2-foot spectacled caiman was captured. It became known as “Daimon the Caiman.”
A few years later, in 2015, an alligator nicknamed “Jaws” was hunted for weeks before it was captured at Flushing Meadow Corona Park.
It seems alligator stories have been with us for a while, though. It was 88 years ago this month when, the story goes, a Harlem teenager spotted an alligator in a sewer, giving birth to one of the most enduring urban legends of all time.
This article was updated with additional information.
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Jessica Gould
Jessica is the education reporter for WNYC and Gothamist. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Jessica reported on the shutdown and reopening of the nation’s largest school system, highlighting the unprecedented impacts on learning, health and mental health for students, staff and families. Got a tip? Email [email protected]
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