The Alligator of Altoona

[Story]

When reports of an alligator prowling a Pennsylvania river started coming in to state wildlife officials, they went out on the water to track it down.

They had a photo to go on, taken along the Frankstown Branch Juniata River, but with no sense of scale, they wouldn’t know the size of the alligator until they saw it for themselves, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission said in a March 12 social media post.

A wildlife officer and game warden went to the area the gator was seen, scouring a roughly half-mile stretch of the river, the post said.

The alligator wasn’t moving, the officer said. While alligators are known for being sedentary animals, the critter’s behavior still struck the officer as odd.

“Peering under the roots, I could make out the rest of the body,” the officer said. “I grabbed it by the tail and discovered the alligator that was terrorizing the Frankstown Branch Juniata River was, in fact, a 3-foot-long rubber toy.”

https://cc.bingj.com/cache.aspx?q=Al...SofcW4nPlHfLpG

[bogey1]

How doe's a toy terrorize a community? This is why they are called fake news.

[scoutjoe]

So the Miami Herald covered it but it missed all the local news stations/paper. Makes total sense.

I'll have to give him a hard time the next time I see him.

[Story]

So the Miami Herald covered it but it missed all the local news stations/paper. Makes total sense.

Mitchell Willetts wrote the article for McClatchy, so it just depends on which newspapers decide to run that story.

I'll have to give him a hard time the next time I see him.

Him who?

[JaySmith]

They had a photo to go on,

IT'S A GOOD THING THEY HAD A PHOTO, OTHERWISE THEY MAY HAVE MISTAKEN THE ALIGATOR FOR SOMETHING ELSE.

"Hey Jim, that over there, is that an alligator?"
"No, Frank, that's a deer."

[scoutjoe]

Him who?

The PAFBC officer in the photo

[Story]

IT'S A GOOD THING THEY HAD A PHOTO, OTHERWISE THEY MAY HAVE MISTAKEN THE ALIGATOR FOR SOMETHING ELSE.

"Hey Jim, that over there, is that an alligator?"
"No, Frank, that's a deer."

[wew3]

The WSJ reports that there are real ones near Pittsburgh.

See Ya Later? Fugitive Pet Alligators Invade Western Pennsylvania
Multiple sightings along a 4-mile stretch of the Kiskiminetas River raise alarms as winter looms; ‘we just want them caught, and we’re running out of time’

By Kris Maher
Sept. 16, 2023 7:00 am ET

KISKIMINETAS TOWNSHIP, Pa.—Police Chief Lee Bartolicius recently asked two residents if they happened to be missing one of their alligators.

The wellness checks were spurred by reports of a 4-foot alligator in the shallow, swift-moving Kiskiminetas River, a body of water half an hour east of Pittsburgh that is normally alligator-free. Multiple sightings along a 4-mile stretch of the river caused a stir across the region.

“In western Pennsylvania, none of us have specialized alligator training,” said Bartolicius. “This isn’t something they give you in the police academy.”

Alligators don’t venture on their own farther north than North Carolina. But that doesn’t account for untold numbers of them lounging in bedrooms and basements all the way to Wisconsin. Some northern states, where they won’t survive the winter, outlaw owning them. But some animals still get loose—or are released by skittish owners.

This August, a pet alligator named Fluffy was recovered in a creek outside Philadelphia, a second was caught at an apartment complex in Beltsville, Md., while another fugitive alligator eluded police in Middlesex, N.J. before being caught by police this month.

In Pennsylvania, the waters of the Kiski were once rust-colored from acid mine drainage, but now they run clear between steep green hills and draw families in kayaks, fly fishers in hip waders and retirees who stroll along a path on the riverbank.

Story continues at https://www.wsj.com/us-news/alligato...hare_permalink

[JAKIII]

How doe's a toy terrorize a community? This is why they are called fake news.

Christmas decorations can cause quite a stir..

0a8719752757b7a802631263cacff135.jpg

[raxar]

The WSJ reports that there are real ones near Pittsburgh.

See Ya Later? Fugitive Pet Alligators Invade Western Pennsylvania
Multiple sightings along a 4-mile stretch of the Kiskiminetas River raise alarms as winter looms; *we just want them caught, and we*re running out of time*

By Kris Maher
Sept. 16, 2023 7:00 am ET

KISKIMINETAS TOWNSHIP, Pa.*Police Chief Lee Bartolicius recently asked two residents if they happened to be missing one of their alligators.

The wellness checks were spurred by reports of a 4-foot alligator in the shallow, swift-moving Kiskiminetas River, a body of water half an hour east of Pittsburgh that is normally alligator-free. Multiple sightings along a 4-mile stretch of the river caused a stir across the region.

*In western Pennsylvania, none of us have specialized alligator training,* said Bartolicius. *This isn*t something they give you in the police academy.*

Alligators don*t venture on their own farther north than North Carolina. But that doesn*t account for untold numbers of them lounging in bedrooms and basements all the way to Wisconsin. Some northern states, where they won*t survive the winter, outlaw owning them. But some animals still get loose*or are released by skittish owners.

This August, a pet alligator named Fluffy was recovered in a creek outside Philadelphia, a second was caught at an apartment complex in Beltsville, Md., while another fugitive alligator eluded police in Middlesex, N.J. before being caught by police this month.

In Pennsylvania, the waters of the Kiski were once rust-colored from acid mine drainage, but now they run clear between steep green hills and draw families in kayaks, fly fishers in hip waders and retirees who stroll along a path on the riverbank.

Story continues at https://www.wsj.com/us-news/alligato...hare_permalink

Its PA, wait 3 months and the problem will take care of itself.