It’s no urban legend: An alligator was found in a chilly New York City lake on Sunday, far from the subtropical and tropical climates where such creatures thrive.
The 4-foot (1.2-meter) reptile was pulled from Prospect Park Lake in Brooklyn around 8:30 a.m. and taken to an animal care center and then the Bronx Zoo for medical treatment and rehabilitation.
City officials said the gator appeared lethargic and possibly cold-shocked. It was likely dumped as an unwanted pet, they said. Releasing animals in city parks is illegal. Police are investigating.
For years, New Yorkers have pondered the myth that alligators roam the city’s sewer system, even celebrating Alligators in the Sewers Day as an unofficial February holiday.
Sightings like Sunday’s help keep the urban legend alive, but experts throw cold water on the sewer theory. Alligators aren’t suited to the sewer system's frigid, toxic environment, they say.
Officials in Montana said dozens were injured after a patio collapse at a country club over the weekend.
Wildfires in Greece have prompted another round of evacuations.
A new study suggests that the next global pandemic could come from the meat supply industry in the U.S.
The investigation continues into the Gilgo Beach murders, leading to a deep dig into the backyard of suspect Rex Heuermann.
The remains of four people who crashed Thursday in a helicopter in Alaska were recovered on Sunday.
Health officials in Nevada say a two-year-old boy has died after contracting a brain-eating amoeba and developing an infection.
A woman was found dead in Montana on Saturday after coming into contact with a grizzly bear on a trail west of Yellowstone National Park.
The EF3 tornado damaged some of the factory's drug storage but not its medicine production areas.
Homicides on average dropped 9.4% during the first half of 2023 as compared to the same period last year, the nonpartisan Council on Criminal Justice found.
Two adults and two children were unaccounted for as of Saturday morning.
