NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) -- A bathtub stopper was found inside the alligator that was rescued from Brooklyn’s Prospect Park Lake over the weekend, the reptile’s caretakers said.
The Bronx Zoo gave an update Wednesday on the 4-foot reptile, which was pulled from the chilly, 55-acre lake around 8:30 a.m. Sunday.
The zoo said in a statement that the female American alligator is lethargic, extremely emaciated and suffering from exposure to the cold. She’s being fed and medicated through a tube, as she’s “too weak and unresponsive to eat.”
“After arriving at the Bronx Zoo, the animal was slowly warmed to an appropriate ambient temperature and received supportive care,” the zoo said.
X-rays showed the gator had “ingested an approximately 4-inch-wide bathtub stopper,” officials said, suggesting she may have been a pet kept in a bathtub before she was dumped in the park.
“The alligator is currently in too weakened a condition to attempt removal of the stopper,” the zoo said.
The critter is estimated to be 5 or 6 years old. She should weigh between 30 and 35 pounds but instead is just 15 pounds.
Releasing animals in city parks is illegal, and police are investigating the incident.
“The tragedy of this situation is a reminder that wild animals do not make good pets and that responsible pet ownership means making choices that will not negatively impact an individual animal or the environment,” the zoo said.
For years, New Yorkers have pondered the myth that alligators roam the city’s sewer system, even celebrating Alligators in the Sewers Day as an unofficial February holiday.
Sightings like this help keep the urban legend alive, but experts throw cold water on the theory. Alligators aren’t suited to the sewer system's frigid, toxic environment, they say.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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