Large Alligator Still At Large – In Jersey

Yellow police tape surrounds Victor Crowell Park in Middlesex Borough, New Jersey, as an escaped 4-foot alligator continues to evade capture. In the past week, the escapee has been spotted at least a half dozen times in Ambrose Brook, a conduit between Lake Creighton and the Raritan River.

Shortly after the first sighting of the toothy reptile, the cops posted on Facebook that, “because the threat to public safety that this reptile causes is significant, a Middlesex Police Officer employed a safe discharge from a firearm in an attempt to neutralize it, while in close proximity.”

As euphemisms go, “employed a safe discharge from a firearm” is not as calming as they think it is, but it does reinforce the idea that there is no problem too big that the cops won’t shoot at it.

We’re hoping for the alligator’s sake that alternate methods of capture will “neutralize” the trespassing beast without resorting to gun violence. To that end, the Jersey Fish & Wildlife division of the state’s Department of Environmental Protection have enjoined the search, deploying boats, drones, and (non-lethal) traps. 

It’s encouraging to hear there are trained animal-control personnel on the case who, we hope, won’t shoot first and ask questions later. If the gator can be humanely captured and relocated to a zoo or the wild (in a more suitable climate), this episode should wind up as a feel-good story – with an added lesson about the folly of keeping exotic pets. 

The most recent communique from the police reasserts the department’s commitment to public relations.

Photo credit: Sam Greenwood / Getty Images