CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Chicago's now-famous Humboldt Park Lagoon alligator has proven mostly elusive, but he – she? – surfaces with regularity on Twitter.
The city's hottest weird news story has spawned at least three Twitter pages that adopt the persona of the four- to five-foot alligator seen in the Northwest Side lagoon. Authorities have been trying to trap the gator since Tuesday -- when it was first reported -- so that they can take it to a zoo for a checkup.
The Twitter pages, not surprisingly, are sassy, portraying the reptile as a smart-alecky and defiant folk hero.
Chicago Alligator (@PortilloGator) started cranking out the tweets Wednesday, as the search continued for a second day. He likes to end most of his tweets with a loud "CHOMP."
Humbolt Park Gator (@ParkGator), in describing his page, says, "Leave me alone and get out of my neighborhood." He taunts his arch nemesis, "Gator Bob," the Chicago Herpetological Society expert and volunteer who is trying to bait and trap the creature.
Last, but probably not least, is Humboldt Park Alligator (@humboldtgator), which describes himself as a "four to five foot reptile living on the west side."
He addresses Chicago Police Department spokesman Anthony Guglielmi, who announced the police were helping in the search.
