‘Lethargic’ alligator pulled from lake in NYC. Mystery remains of how it got there

An idle alligator was pulled from a lake in a popular New York City park, officials said.

The toothy reptile was spotted in Prospect Park Lake in Brooklyn on Feb. 19, according to a statement from the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation.

Parks Enforcement Patrol and Urban Park Rangers later captured the scaly creature, which measured about 4 feet, officials said.

“The animal was found in poor condition and very lethargic,” officials said, adding that it was “possibly cold shocked since it is native to warm, tropical climates.”

It was takenfirst to an animal care center and then to the Bronx Zoo for recovery. No one was harmed in the process.

It’s not clear exactly how it ended up in the park lake.

“Parks are not suitable homes for animals not indigenous to those parks—domesticated or otherwise,” officials said. “In addition to the potential danger to park goers this could have caused, releasing non-indigenous animals or unwanted pets can lead to the elimination of native species and unhealthy water quality.”

Over the decades, there have been multiple reports of alligator encounters in the Big Apple.

A caiman was spotted in a Central Park pond in 2001, prompting “gator-crazed” city residents to keep their eyes peeled for the animal, according to the parks department. A pair of Floridian “alligator wrestlers” finally captured it after a week.

These occasional sightings lend credence to the nearly century-old urban legend that alligators dwell in the city’s sewers, according to The New York Times.

However, the water in the city’s sewers is “too cold and toxic for alligators to survive very long,” according to the newspaper.

This story was originally published February 21, 2023 at 11:58 AM with the headline "‘Lethargic’ alligator pulled from lake in NYC. Mystery remains of how it got there."