RIVERSIDE — Authorities are trying to verify a report of two alligators spotted at a slough in Riverside.
“We are looking to see if the report of two alligators at a slough near River Bend Apartments is true,” Riverside Police chief Rick Oliver said.
Oliver said a River Bend Apartments resident called the police department Friday to report the gator sighting.
“We called Game and Fish (the Alabama Department of Conservation Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries) and they came out Friday,” he said.
Oliver said Riverside police officers and the Game and Fish officials searched the slough all day Friday.
“One of our officers, Wayne Knight, observed something that could have been an alligator,” he said.
Oliver said officials were waiting on another sighting, and would continue searching for the gator.
“I haven’t personally seen the alligator, so I can’t say if it is the same alligator from back in May,” he said.
Last May, an estimated 6-8 foot alligator appeared in the slough at Riverside Landing. Numerous passers-by stopped and watched as the gator swam in the slough all day.
Game officials attempted to capture the reptile that night with a limb line, but were unsuccessful as it moved out of the slough to a new location, appearing in the slough near River Bend Apartments the next day.
Game officials again attempted to capture the gator, but were unsuccessful. The alligator disappeared and no further sightings were reported.
River Bend Apartments issued a letter to all residents Friday informing them of the alligator sighting and urging caution with children and pets. Residents were advised to stay away from the slough.
Game officials urge residents not to feed alligators, so the reptiles do not become accustomed to humans. Residents should not attempt to capture the gator or antagonize it.
Anyone who sees an alligator should call the Alabama Department of Conservation Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries District 2 office 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday at 256-435-1642 or after hours call the game watch number at 1-800-272-4263.
Oliver said individuals may also call Central Dispatch at 205-884-3333 to report any alligator sightings.
Here is a good one for you. A man from Michigan’s upper peninsula reported his snake stolen, the unusual part is he claims his snake was stolen in November 2009. He claimed to know who stole it but when asked why it took him 14 months to report it he only said at the time he was doing some bad stuff with bad people. Police questioned the woman that he claims stole the snake but of course she denied it and stated he more than likely misplaced the animal. There are currently no leads in the case.
Another lizard has been found in some processed food but this time it was alive. The Mediterranean Gecko apparently not only survived the process but also a 1,000 mile refrigerated journey to where is was finally found by a 62yo woman while she started cutting the bag opened.
At first she was startled but later collected the lizard and brought it to the vet where it is currently being rehabilitated. The company who bagged the food “Tesco” sent her a $10 voucher with an apology and claim to be investigating the circumstances.
The Deputy Director of an education department drove himself to the Hospital after being bitten by a snake but not before catching the snake and dropping by the Vets office to get it properly identified as a Puff Adder. The conservation department got the snake from the vet later that day. There is no word what will happen to the snake but the victim is expected to fully recover.
66 reptiles were stolen from Lost World Reptiles on Monday. Apparently the shop had no security cameras in place and the owners nor the authorities have any ideas who took the animals. The owners are devastated as most of the animals were imported from the U.S. as babies and raised by them and now they will have to start over. The police did state that this dose not appear to be the act of opportunistic burglars but rather a planed out calculated hit by someone that knows about reptiles and was probably a customer who knew the shop lay out.
f you can help phone Sittingbourne Police on 01795 419182 or Kent Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111 quoting crime number CY/000188/11.
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