Unlikely visitor: Alligator found in New York creek

NEW YORK - A shocking discovery in New York state – an alligator in a creek!

Haverstraw Police responded to Minisceongo Creek on Thursday morning in Garnerville, Rockland County and found the reptile in the water. 

CREDIT: Haverstraw Police Department.

Police were able to successfully rescue the gator, which is now in the possession and care of the Hudson Valley Humane Society of Pomona.

Alligator found in Brooklyn park

Last year, a 4-foot alligator was pulled from Prospect Park Lake in Brooklyn, but sadly died.

The female alligator was found on Feb. 19, 2023 in 37-degree Fahrenheit temperature water. The animal was taken to the Bronx Zoo, which discovered that she had ingested a 4-inch wide bathtub stopper. 

The animal was suffering from chronic and severe weight loss, extreme anemia, and infections in her intestine and skin, according to zoo staff. She also had a chronic ulcer of her stomach caused by the rubber stopper. 

Despite extensive medical treatment, the Bronx Zoo said the alligator ultimately died a few months later.

It is illegal to have an alligator in New York, but officials have said people often buy young alligators and then abandon them as they mature.