Man Walking Dog Finds Alligator In Middlesex County

OLD BRIDGE, NJ — Add this to the odd things New Jersey residents have found while out walking their dogs: A man in Old Bridge Township found this baby alligator Thursday while taking his dog for a walk.

The alligator was found by Duhernal Lake, Old Bridge Twp. police confirmed to Patch. The alligator was technically found in the area of Englishtown Road and Main Street in Spotswood. Duhernal Lake is a swampy area and a popular local fishing site.

The man grabbed a net and waited by the lake; at some point he caught the gator and after taking a few photos with it, he contacted the Old Bridge animal shelter. The shelter in turn contacted New Jersey's Fish and Wildlife Division, police said. That's the alligator pictured above, in a photo provided by Old Bridge police.

"This was about a two-foot-long alligator, a baby," said Capt. Joe Mandola of the Old Bridge police department. "We got a call at about 1 p.m. Thursday that a man had found an alligator and had it in a net by the lake. The alligator was very calm, not snapping or aggressive at all."

The Division of Fish and Wildlife is working with local animal control to relocate it to an alligator rescue operation in northeastern Pennsylvania, said Larry Hajna, a spokesman for the state Dept. of Environmental Protection. This alligator appears to be a pet that someone no longer wanted, said Capt. Mandola, and so they dumped it in Duhernal Lake.

"It's a shame really, for the animal, because it would die a slow, torturous death when the winter comes," said Capt. Mandola. "It would freeze to death. If you have an unwanted pet, the best thing to do is contact a local animal shelter or NJ Fish & Wildlife."

It is illegal to own an alligator or caiman in New Jersey, as they are considered dangerous, Hajna said. However it is legal to purchase these animals in some other states.

"People frequently purchase them and then release them into rivers and lakes when they get too big for the aquarium they’re living in," he said. "They are not likely to survive the cold of winter in these waters. The Division of Fish and Wildlife is working to determine who may have released this particular animal."

It is pictured below in a photo from the man's friend's Facebook page.

Believe it or not, this is not the first time an alligator has been found in the swamps of New Jersey.

A town DWP worker found a caiman in the Secaucus duck pond in May of 2017. A caiman is a small type of alligator and the town's mayor said someone probably deposited the animal there after they no longer wanted it as a pet. In 2015, as Patch reported, someone dumped an unwanted alligator in the Passaic River. That alligator was much bigger, anywhere from four to seven feet long, and it was spotted by a man fishing for carp, Elmwood Park Police Chief Michael Foligno said at the time.

It was captured in Elmwood Park. Chief Foligno said the alligator was seen very close to the shore and then swam out into the river. The chief said that the animal grew to be too big "in all likelihood" and its owner dumped it, Cliffviewpilot.com reported.

The Secaucus caiman was never found and Secaucus Mayor Mike Gonnelli has said many times he doubts it survived New Jersey's harsh winter. Here is a Facebook photo from the men who found the alligator at Duhernal Lake:

Related: Alligator Captured From Passaic River

Photo: Photo of the baby alligator found Sept. 13, 2018 in Duhernal Lake provided by Old Bridge police, and used with their permission.