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Experts: Gators in northern waters probably pets http://apocadocs.com/s.pl?1282687950
Two gators in the Chicago River. One strolling down a Massachusetts street. Another in bustling New York City. And that's just in the past few weeks.
From North Dakota to Indiana, alligators are showing up far from their traditional southern habitats - including a 3-footer captured Tuesday in the Chicago River.
But experts say it's not the latest sign of global warming. Instead the creatures almost certainly were pets that escaped or were dumped by their owners.
"People buy them as pets and then they get too big and at some point they decide they just can't deal with it," said Kent Vliet, an alligator expert from the University of Florida who tracks media reports about the reptiles.... Vliet said such small alligators don't pose much of a threat to humans - preferring to dine on fish, snails, crayfish, frogs and small snakes - though they probably would bite if handled.
"It's not like it's going to hunt you down," he said.
The greater risk is to the reptiles, which probably wouldn't survive long in northern climates, experts said.
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[Read more stories about:
invasive species, stupid humans]
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'Doc Michael says:
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That's presuming there aren't, y'know, sewers.
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