Alligator rescued from lake in Brooklyn, New York

New York: For years, New Yorkers have pondered the myth of alligators roaming the city’s sewer system, even celebrating Alligator in the Sewer Day as an unofficial February holiday.

But it’s no longer urban legend: An alligator was found Sunday in a cool lake in New York City, far from the subtropical and tropical climates where such creatures thrive.

The four-foot-long reptile was pulled from Brooklyn’s Prospect Park Lake around 8:30 a.m. and taken to an animal care center for medical treatment and rehabilitation, and then to the Bronx Zoo.

City officials said the alligator was lethargic and may have been shocked.

It was likely dumped as an unwanted pet, they said. Releasing animals into city parks is illegal. The police are investigating.

“We are grateful to our Parks Enforcement Patrol and Urban Park Rangers, who took immediate action to capture and transport the alligator,” a spokesman for NYC Parks said in a statement.

The department said no one was harmed when the animal was caught and transported to the zoo.

Alligator attacks are extremely rare in the United States, even in the states where they typically reside. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission counted that there were only 442 unprovoked bite incidents in the state from 1948 to 2021.

The New York City Parks Department has publicly warned against releasing non-native animals around the city, which is illegal.