A 4-5 foot alligator has been seen swimming in Chicago’s Humboldt Park Lagoon, police confirmed.
City authorities brought in an alligator expert to capture the reptile, which was first spotted Tuesday morning off the 1400 block of North Humboldt Drive, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.
“We’ve independently confirmed the alligator is in the lagoon and state reptile specialists say [it’s] between 4 and 5 feet long,” Chicago police spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi said in a tweet. “The reptile will be humanely trapped tonight and relocated to a zoo for veterinary evaluation.”
There is an alligator like creature in the Humboldt Park Lagoon. #Chicago pic.twitter.com/yOALjbW2BV
— armando l sanchez (@mandophotos) July 10, 2019
A man known only as “Alligator Bob” is working with the city to rescue the reptile and was seen paddling a canoe through the lagoon Tuesday. He is an animal expert with the Chicago Herpetological Society, according to Jenny Schlueter, a spokesperson for Chicago Animal Care and Control, according a Fox affiliate.
“This is not something to worry about,” Alligator Bob said. “It’s not big enough to look at humans as food. It’s not going to jump out of the water and attack people.” (RELATED: Alligator Breaks Through Florida Kitchen Window)
Alligator Bob has been working with the Chicago Herpetological Society since the 1970s and says he has been involved in at least six alligator rescues. He could not confirm how long it would take to rescue the alligator, warning it could take days.
Authorities think the reptile may have been a former house pet released into the lagoon. Alligator Bob cautioned the alligator was likely scared and could die if left in an unfamiliar environment for an extended period.
“It’s not like the movies where they attack you and drag the lady into the pond and stuff,” he added.
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