Alligator in Brooklyn's Prospect Park evokes memories of Chicago's Chance the Snapper
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Things that evoke Chicago just seem to keep happening in New York City.
Earlier this month, we told you about New York's Mini Bean or Baby Bean.
The new sculpture amount to a smaller version of the iconic "Cloud Gate" in Millennium Park and was created by the same artist, British sculptor Anish Kapoor. It sits at the base of skyscraper at 56 Leonard St. in the Tribeca neighborhood of Lower Manhattan – which was completed in 2017 and is colloquially known as the Jenga Tower.
And then this weekend in Prospect Park in Brooklyn, there was some Chicago déjà vu going back to about four years ago.
New York City Department of Parks and Recreation employees caught the 4-foot alligator in a lake in Prospect Park after maintenance workers spotted it Sunday morning.
"One of the enforcement officers was notified about an alligator in the lake, surprisingly, on a Sunday morning, very early," Parks Ranger Sgt. Judith Velosky told CBS 2 in New York. "She was able to use a snare pole to grab it and pull it to shore... I got there shortly after that, and together we got it in the crate."
Officials said the reptile was in poor condition, very lethargic, and possibly cold-shocked – since alligators are native to warm, tropical climates. It was taken to New York City Animal Care Control to be evaluated and treated, and then transported to the Bronx Zoo for rehabilitation.
Officials say the only possibility for how the alligator got there is that someone released it, likely an unwanted pet. Some parkgoers wondered if it had been living in someone's bathtub.
This was a throwback to something that happened in the Humboldt Park lagoon – and dominated Chicago news headlines – coming up on four years ago.
For a week in July 2019, large crowds swarmed the Humboldt Park to catch a glimpse of the alligator – who came to be known as Chance the Snapper. But the alligator kept eluding teams from Chicago Animal Care and Control, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, and volunteer herpetologist "Alligator Bob."
The city finally called in Frank Robb -- better known as Alligator Robb – to execute the job. Early on the morning of Tuesday, July 16, Robb caught the gator using a fishing pole with a grappling hook on the end of the line.
Chance the Snapper was taken to a permanent home at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park in Florida afterward.
Back in New York, they named the alligator Godzilla. And they speculated on what he might have eaten while on the loose in Prospect Park.
"Not sure what the gator would've eaten, probably couple of the geese. Or a slice over at Vinny's on the corner there," Daniel Feldman told CBS 2 New York's Natalie Duddridge.
Back in 2019, nobody talked about whether Chance the Snapper would have preferred deep dish or tavern style. But whatever the case, CBS 2 New York notes that experts say alligators prefer fish and birds, and can devour up to 40 pounds in a single feeding.
So what's next? Is a mountain lion going to turn up in Bushwick or Park Slope – as happened in Roscoe Village back in 2008? We'll have to wait and find out.
