The nearly 1.5-metre-long female alligator was lethargic and suffering from exposure to the cold when it was found in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park Lake on Sunday, according to a spokesperson for the Bronx Zoo, where the gator is recovering.

After being spotted by a park maintenance worker Sunday morning, the alligator was pulled from the lake and taken to Animal Care Centers of New York City before it was brought to the Bronx Zoo.

An alligator rescued from a New York lake had swallowed a bath plug, x-rays showed. (AP)

Zoo officials said in a news release that the rescued alligator is too weak to eat on its own and is being tube-fed. At just 6.8kg, the alligator is extremely emaciated, as an alligator of its length should weigh 13.6kg to 15.9kg, they said.

X-Rays show that the alligator, estimated to be five to six years old, had ingested a 10cm bathtub stopper, zoo officials said, noting that the animal is too weak for veterinarians to try to remove it.

It is illegal to have an alligator in New York state, but it is not uncommon for people to buy young alligators and then abandon them. A baby alligator was found in a swimming pool in suburban Bayport in 2019.

Workers from the New York City Department of Parks got a scaly surprise on Sunday when they discovered and rescued an alligator in a Brooklyn park.
The alligator was extremely emaciated. (NYC Parks)

Animal Care Centres spokesperson Katy Hansen said the organization has taken in six American alligators since 2018.

Bronx Zoo Director Jim Breheny called the alligator found Sunday a sad example of the exotic pet trade.

“People need to think before they acquire exotic animals,” Breheny said.

“Everyone needs to know and realize that wild animals don’t make good pets.”

Breheny said leaving the alligator in a lake in Brooklyn in the wintertime “was an irresponsible act and certainly not in the animal’s best interest.”

Fitzroy Crossing, Western Australia

Big croc gets washed into remote town by WA floodwaters

Sign up here to receive our daily newsletters and breaking news alerts, sent straight to your inbox.
You May Also Like

Jay North, ‘Dennis the Menace’ star, dead at 73

North died at home in Lake Butler, Florida, after battling colon cancer for years,…

At least nine injured, including kids, after minivan crashes into crowd on LA sidewalk

By SONYA GUGLIARA FOR DAILYMAIL.COM Published: 19:37 EDT, 6 April 2025 |…

Aussie dollar's horror plunge against the greenback

The Australian dollar has dropped below US60 cents for the first time…