Alligators in New Orleans???

Tulio · **Joined:** Mon May 03, 2004 1:05 am **Posts:** 3236

I don't know if this is true or not, okay?

Rumors after Katrina, had it that there were alligators and sharks swimming in the polluted waters of flooded New Orleans. Many urban legends have been debunked elsewhere, and this could prove to be one of those...

However, these three photos were sent to me, and the e-mail's text states:

Now this is a crocodile!

This crocodile was found in New Orleans swimming down the street.

21 ft long, 4,500 lbs, around 80 years old minimum.

Specialists said that he was looking to eat humans because he was too old to catch animals.

This crocodile was killed by the army last Sunday at 3:30 P.M.; currently he is in the freezer at the Azure hotel. The contents of its stomach will be analyzed this Friday at 2:30 PM.

^^^^

Now:
"specialists" [who, where, when??]
"Killed by the army" (unit, location)
No date is given for the kill, nor for the "analysis" of the stomach contents.

One thing I found odd with the photos, was that they all had digital photo file numbers, but these were not even in numeric sequence and came evidently from three different cameras....

What do you guys know? Is it just a photoshopped joke? Does anyone know more about this, if true?

Saludos,

Tulio

Brian · **Posted:** Fri Sep 30, 2005 11:54 am

Funny you should bring this up. My Assistant Chief just got back from down there after spending two weeks doing house-to-house checks. He told me that he kept his camera with him in hopes of seeing an alligator. Every time he went over a bridge he would spend several minutes looking. NADA.

TimAPNY · **Posted:** Fri Sep 30, 2005 12:48 pm

Doesn't look like those are taken in the US to me,

If I'm wrong about location, could it be a zoo excape-ee??

Big lizard in my backyard
Can't afford to feed him anymore
Big lizard in my backyard
Bustin' down my neighbour's door

was knocked outta bed
Late last night
I was woken up by the sound of dynamite
I ran downstairs to find an army man
He said "We gotta blow up those things we don't understand

I bet you Never thought you'd see the Dead Milkmen and Merle Hagard lyrics next too each other

bdk · **Joined:** Sun May 02, 2004 1:16 am **Posts:** 11324

Tulio my gullible friend, have a look here:

http://www.snopes.com/katrina/photos/crocodile.asp

systemofadown1162 · **Posted:** Fri Sep 30, 2005 2:54 pm

Plus crocs are in the eastern hemisphere while gators are in ours.

bdk · **Joined:** Sun May 02, 2004 1:16 am **Posts:** 11324

systemofadown1162 wrote:

Plus crocs are in the eastern hemisphere while gators are in ours.

That is false! I learned at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm that there are Crocodiles in the Gulf region of the US.

Jeff Funk · **Posted:** Fri Sep 30, 2005 9:05 pm

Based on the size, that croc is probably a Nile Croc found throughout most of Africa (I believe) or an Australian Saltwater. If the picture is taken in the U.S., I think it would have to be a zoo escapee. However, a quick glance at the truck fails to show a Louisianna or any other state license plate. I believe this picture is fake as far as New Orleans is concerned.

American crocodiles are only found in extreme south Florida from the Everglades to the Keys. They are extremely rare and are endangered. The source of this information is the National Audubon Field Guide to North American Reptiles and Amphibians.

I strongly suspect there are at least a few gators swimming around the flood waters in New Orleans. They have become very common from Florida through south Texas. They can make them selves quite scarce, especially during the day. For 5 years, I lived near Buffalo Bayou at the Harris/Fort Bend Counties' border outside Houston and never saw a gator despite much looking. Yet a small one crawled up in my daughters' school yard which was located on a feeder ditch to the Bayou. A large gator from the Bayou made the national news when law enforcement folks killed it after took residence in a driveway a few blocks from our home. The point is that gators can live in fairly developed areas and not be overly obvious.

As far as sharks go, it turns out that Bull Sharks tolerate low salinity conditions in estuaries and even occasionally enter freshwater. They are the only shark that can live in fresh water and have been found as far as 100 miles from the Gulf. However, I don't believe they thrive in freshwater. Bull sharks have been implicated in attacks on humans, including some recent ones. As they are common in the Gulf, it is conceivable a few of them are swimming around the flood water, but that would be least of my concerns. If you've swimmed in the Atlantic south of New York or the Gulf, you've put yourself in Bull Shark habitat.

Enough of Bio 101. I'm not an expert, just a long interest in nature (longer than planes).

Rob Mears · **Posted:** Fri Sep 30, 2005 9:28 pm

I've seen alligators almost as far north as Arkansas. My folks have had two different gators take up residence in their pond just north of Monroe, LA during the last three or four years. They weren't babies either!

bdk · **Joined:** Sun May 02, 2004 1:16 am **Posts:** 11324

There is a cayman in a small lake here in Los Angeles. Not a native though, it was dumped and they have been unable to catch it.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/state/20050825-0016-wst-gatorlake.html
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-08-24-gator_x.htm?csp=34
http://www.sciencedaily.com/upi/?feed=Quirks&article=UPI-1-20050819-13581100-bc-us-gator.xml
http://www.i-pets.com/blog/2005/08/two-arrested-for-dumping-alligator.html
http://www.breitbart.com/news/2005/08/24/MTFH85015_2005-08-24_20-11-18_EIC472600.html

tom d. friedman · **Posted:** Fri Sep 30, 2005 11:00 pm

would make a hell of a bunch of suit cases or shoes, or 1000 wallets!!!

Tulio · **Joined:** Mon May 03, 2004 1:05 am **Posts:** 3236

bdk wrote:

Tulio my gullible friend . . .

Gullible? I did not say that I believed it right? : )

"I don't know if this is true or not, okay?"

I noticed the "license" plate-like numbers on the truck, and they did not look even U.S. Army to me.

I also questioned the provenance of the photo, including the lack of credible information.

If there is anything that I am not, is gullible; I am more of a non-believer in most things, until I am 100% convinced that they are true; thus, the thread to try to find some level of truth.

I thought it was a photoshop job, but the shadows under the croc look too natural to me, although there is always a good con-artist out there capable of creating a believable image.

I remember the big'un at the Buffalo Bayou in Houston; for many years people reported it and no one saw it until a student at the downtown campus, UofH, shot a photo of it basking in the sun.

I believe that it was eventually caught and moved to the Brazos Park.

Now, sharks . . . there have been shark attacks documented -IIRC- as far up north as St. Louis, MO.... Tiger sharks are also found in the waters of Lake Nicaragua, where they swim upstream through the San Juan River, a couple hundred klicks and are known to attack dugout canoes...

Sharks and alligators / crocodileae have always fascinated me, and I have read a little regarding their behavior and attacks to humans.

So, it is clear it was not in New Orleans, but still... a big MoFo reptilian, wouldn't you all agree?

Saludos,

Tulio

Jeff Funk · **Posted:** Sat Oct 01, 2005 8:00 am

Tulio,

I did not mean to belittle your intellectual capacity or reasoning powers. You are one of the better posters on this board and I value your factual input and opinions. The tone of your initial message seemed to be a request for opinions or clarification, rather than satire. I only wanted to lay out the basis for my opinion that the claim this particular croc was found in N. O. is probably a real "crock". I also wanted to state the opinion that alligators are quite likely and sharks are possible, but I personally wouldn't be overly concerned about the latter. I only quoted the resource book on American crocodiles to document the source of my data since I'm certainly not an expert on reptiles, but it could be wrong. In fact, my source book on Gulf Fishes misses the possibility of Tiger Sharks entering fresh or low salinity water, however, I don't doubt your reports of them attacking folks in South American lakes. The authors of that particular source book need to do more research and I learned something new! Resouce books are chock full of errors and bad data, even in scientific literature.

I hope you accept my earnest apology if my reply offended you and please be assured I value your many contributions to this board.

Jeff

PS. IT IS one big Mo F'n croc!

bdk · **Joined:** Sun May 02, 2004 1:16 am **Posts:** 11324

No, it was I that offended Tulio...

I don't know why people bother to doctor these types of photos. The "real" story is interesting and amazing enough.

I always check www.snopes.com first for this kind of stuff. They seem quite reliable, although I doubt they speak with any scientific authority.

systemofadown1162 · **Posted:** Sat Oct 01, 2005 10:56 am

I just remembered reading this article from Popular Science: http://www.popsci.com/popsci/technology/generaltechnology/d6002684e4646010vgnvcm1000004eecbccdrcrd.html

Tulio · **Joined:** Mon May 03, 2004 1:05 am **Posts:** 3236

Guys, before this gets out of hand, let me make something very clear:

Neither of you has offended me in any way, shape or form.

I questioned Brandon's term of gullible, because if there is something that I am not, is precisely that. I am probably one of the most skeptical [sp??] people you will ever meet.

The photos were sent to me, and I doubt their veracity. This is why I asked questions regarding their truthfulness, but probably I could have phrased my posting better.

I come here to learn, and I do appreciate your input, not only on this subject but also elsewhere in this forum.

So, as far as I am concerned, nothing has happened here, and if you want to continue discussing this subject, that would be great, because we all learn a little with every posting and opinion.

Saludos to y'all.

Tulio

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