new thread
This morning I found a 6 ft long alligator prowling around on the street in front of my house - in central New Jersey. As far as I know alligators don't live this far to the North. So one of the following explanations is most likely:
1) The critter was somebody's pet and its owner let it loose when it grew too big
2) The house where it was kept was flooded and the alligator escaped
3) The climate in my area got warm enough for the alligators to live here, despite the snowstorms that hit us this winter
I had to call the police and they got the animal control people to capture the alligator.
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A Linux Longhair
Hmmmmmmm,well that's a heck of a thing to greet you at your car!What would have been a shocker if it was under the car and it lunged out after you just got in.Sure wouldn't need that cup of Java to wake you up that morning.Hope the animal control people were able to find it a nice home:)
Mark
I am SOOooooo jealous. All I have here are scorpions...
Of course they are about the same size !!
HA !!
WOW, that is totally AMAZING!! And even though I know that alligators can get much bigger than that, just the fact that it was so far North out of its natural territory is quite a phenomena!
I have one question, though: I thought you lived in Eastern Europe -- or maybe that was a long time ago?? I thought I remember reading that you lived in Romania (but apparently I had no clue that you moved to the States).
Just curious...
- Ken in San Francisco
They come up here in the North every year on April Fools' Day...
I lived in Romania until 1988 when I fled from the country, I spent the following 15 years in Denmark, then I moved to the US. Now I am living in NJ with my wife and kids.
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A Linux Longhair
Ah, yes, the great 'gator migration North, amazing how that happens like clock-work every April 1st (LOL)!!
Thanks for the reply, LL! I remember reading one of your posts one time about how difficult life was for you in Romania, and you being harassed for having long hair there. I've heard a lot of good things about Denmark, though (my mom's 3rd husband was Danish, plus I also had a good friend that moved there several years ago).... Just stay away from those alligators migrating back South from NYC, though -- I've heard those are the WORST (lol)!!
- Ken
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I have some expertise regarding large reptiles and have determined that a large alligator could not have survived the cold winter in New Jersey. The only possibility is that it was someone's pet, and it escaped during the flood. If it is not put into a warm place soon, it will likely die. This alligator is well fed and is probably between 5 and 10 years old.
Scott
[...]
You should never trust a Linux longhair armed with GIMP(*) on April Fools' Day :-)
The alligator pic was taken at a zoo a long time ago, I clipped it and put it in the front of the car...
(*) GIMP is a Photoshop-like tool included in every Linux distribution.
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A Linux Longhair
Oh I'm shocked! Good job I did "alternative" scene photography then lol!