CHICAGO – The search for an alligator spotted in Chicago's Humboldt Park Lagoon entered its second day Wednesday, as police warned people to leave the gator-trapping to a volunteer animal wrangler known as Alligator Bob, who was checking traps he set Tuesday night in hopes of catching the animal.
Authorities had been called to the lagoon after people started reported seeing the reptile there and sharing photos of it on social media. Authorities "independently confirmed the alligator is in the lagoon," and specialists said it was 4 to 5 feet long, police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said. Officials want to have it "relocated to a zoo," he said.
Alligator Bob, a volunteer who declined to give his full name, set three traps baited with raw chicken drumsticks but was still searching for the animal Wednesday. He said he believes the animal is an American alligator. Officials said they believe someone had the alligator as a pet and released it into the lagoon.
The goal is to "trap, remove or relocate" the gator — not harm it, Alligator Bob said Wednesday morning.
In the hours after police tweeted out confirmation that the animal was in the lagoon Tuesday, crowds of people flocked to the park hoping to spot it. But Wednesday, police warned that people shouldn't try catching it on their own.
This is far from the first exotic animal located in Chicago waterways.
Last year, a kayaker found an alligator near Waukegan.
In 2010, a gator was caught with Alligator Bob's help in the North Branch of the Chicago River. When an alligator was caught in the South Branch in 2008, it was billed at the time as the first found in the river. But a Tribune article from 1902 reported that one was found that July.
In 1953, two boys found an alligator in the Des Plaines River while they were turtle hunting, said reports from the time.
