Alligator spotted on Chicago River is caught
August 6, 2010 10:20 AM | No Comments
An alligator spotted along the North Branch of the Chicago River this week was caught in a trap early today, a city official said.
A person claimed to have seen an alligator at about 11:30 a.m. on Thursday near the 3400 block of North Rockwell Avenue, said Chicago Police News Affairs Officer Robert Perez.
Eloy Navarro, one of those who saw the alligator at Clark Park on the east bank of the Chicago River, behind Lane Tech High School, described the alligator as "just a baby."
A member of the Chicago Herpetological Society found the alligator about 5 a.m. today in a trap that had been set in the area overnight, said Chicago Animal Care & Control Commission executive director Cherie Travis. The animal is about 2-1/2 feet long, and likely was a pet someone released.
Animal control officers had spotted the animal briefly on Thursday, but it slipped out of their reach and went in the river, Travis said. After a search this afternoon, she said.
It's illegal for Illinois residents to keep what are defined under state law as "dangerous animals" as pets, Travis said.
"Anything's cute when it's little, including a baby alligator, and it probably was released because it was getting bigger, and acting more like what it is--a wild animal," Travis said.
