PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The Animal Care and Control Team (ACCT) of Philly is reminding the public to stop dumping exotic pets after the organization rescued a reptile from South Philadelphia’s FDR Park over the weekend.
Around 10:15 a.m. Sunday, someone reported seeing what they thought was an alligator in the park. It was later identified as a caiman, a relative of the alligator.
ACCT officials captured the animal and plan to take it to a wildlife rehab center, where it can get proper care.
ACCT spokesperson Sarah Barnett said it was likely someone’s pet.
“He was a little bit feisty, but he was able to be picked up,” she said. “That also indicates he was somebody’s pet and he just outgrew his home.”
Caimans are native to regions like South America and Mexico and have become an invasive species in Florida.
Barnett emphasized the dangers of releasing non-native animals like this caiman into our region.
“They can’t survive the weather out here,” she said. “They need their water to be 70 degrees just to be in it and then 85 to eat.”
Anyone who has taken in a wild animal as a pet will probably realize they can’t actually take care of it, Barnett added. If that’s ever the case, she said people can always call the experts to step in.
“A lot of people when they get these animals, they don’t know what they’re committing to. And they don’t realize until [the animal] gets about 2 or 3 feet [long], and they realize, ‘Oh, he is growing as big as they said he would,’” she said. “Unfortunately, they don’t always reach out for help and they oftentimes will just release the animals.
“You also have to take into account, what level of care do they need?”
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