Neighbors Spot Alligator Swimming, Strolling At Popular Lake Near Sacramento
ELK GROVE (KPIX) - Park officials have shut down a popular lake after neighbors spotted an alligator taking a swim and a leisurely stroll.
Karen Keeslar was at Camden Lake in Elk Grove and snapped a photo. She posted it on social media.
She said she has seen it days in a row.
"It came up and it would go straight under and up and under. We saw a head come up. The body was like three or four feet long," said Keeslar, who first spotted the alligator on Wednesday. She lives across the street from the lake.
Another neighbor saw it and says the 4-foot gator does not appear aggressive. Gavin Crutcher said it sometimes it strolls along the shoreline right in front of onlookers.
Sharon Anderson of the Camden Neighborhood Association has also seen the gator.
"To all of a sudden have one show up it means that somebody dumped it and usually when someone dumps it, it means they raised it from when they were cute and little and that it got too big to handle," said Anderson.
Elk Grove is about 16 miles from Sacramento.
Neighbors said they have noticed a drop in the number of birds, over the last week, but their biggest concerh is small children, pets and fisherman who use the lake every day.
Game wardens have cordoned off the entire lake.
Meanwhile, the alligator is still on the loose.