'They show up in strange places': Alligator rescued from New York creek

USA Today

19-11-2024

An alligator rescued from a New York creek has a new home thanks to a community member who saved him, according to authorities and a local humane society.
A man found the American alligator Thursday morning in the Minisceongo Creek, according to television station WCBS.
"I saw a little alligator!" George Barbera told the outlet. "Once we got him on the land, wasn't as small as I thought he was."
The Haverstraw Police Department was part of the rescue crew and tried a few different methods to bring him to safety, according to the outlet. First, they tried giving the alligator some meat hooked to a fishing pole, but he didn't budge.
"He just went around in a circle and came right back to the sunlight right here," Barbera told the television station.
Officers were eventually able to grab him using a catch pole, then took the alligator to the Hudson Valley Humane Society in Pomona, about 24 miles northwest of White Plains.
The humane society shared updates about the alligator Thursday and Friday, adding that a herpetology expert from the Bronx Zoo took a look at him and gave him a clean bill of health.
The humane society said it mainly focused on getting the cold-blooded animal warmed up before sending him to his new home, according to one Facebook post.
Where is the alligator now?
The American alligator is living with Mark Perpetua of Saugerties. He owns Mark Perpetua's Reptile Encounters, an educational program about reptiles. Perpetua is also a high school science teacher, he told USA TODAY Tuesday morning.
He plans to make the alligator part of presentations and displays to teach people about their natural history and conservation, Perpetua said.
American alligators like this one are not native to New York and are mainly found in the south, he said. In some states, they are legally owned as pets.
'People are able to get them, bring them into New York without a license and when they get too big if they can't find a home, they occasionally end up in places where they don't belong,' Perpetua said.
The alligator he now owns definitely didn't belong in such a cold creek in New York, he said. Had he stayed there during the winter, he could've frozen to death, said Perpetua, who is licensed to own alligators.
Perpetua said it's common for people to release alligators when they can no longer care for them. People who find themselves in this predicament can reach out to sanctuaries, but even that can be tricky because zoos typically work with endangered species.
Zoos are also quite full sometimes.
'If you don't already have those contacts built, it's hard to find them,' he said.
Also, some people have alligators illegally and they're afraid to turn them over to agencies or organizations because they may get caught, he said.
'They show up in strange places,' he said.
He estimates the animal is four to six years old, but said he could even be 10 years old.
Perpetua also gave the alligator a name that's pretty special to him: Guidry.
'Guidry is a good ol' Louisiana name, and my favorite baseball player when I was a kid was Ron Guidry from the Yankees,' he said. 'Ron Guidry, his nickname … since he was from Louisiana was Gator.'
Gators like Guidry tend to live 50 to 80 years or longer, his new owner said.
With Guidry added to the mix, Perpetua now has five alligators and a crocodile. He's getting another crocodile on Saturday. He said Guidry is the second alligator he has taken in this year. The previous one was 5 feet long, and Guidry is 3 feet long.
'I never knew it was going to become a sanctuary for crocodilians, but that's what I do,' he said.
Saleen Martin is a reporter on USA TODAY's NOW team. She is from Norfolk, Virginia – the 757. Follow her on Twitter at@SaleenMartin or email her [e-mail].