Authorities Search for St. Mary's Alligator

Nicole Spenc likes Alligators

Fox 5, Alligator search underway in St. Mary’s County, officials say

St. Mary’s County officials and a wildlife expert say they’re searching for an alligator that was reported in the area recently.

About a week and a half ago, officials in St. Mary’s County got a report of an eight-foot alligator roaming around.

According to county officials, they initially dismissed an alligator sighting in the area last year due to a lack of evidence.

A wildlife specialist, however, took an interest in the case, and recorded what they believe is credible video that could be showing an alligator.

So does Maria Meinke

Maybe the fact that an alligator was (allegedly) recently caught nearby in Calvert County prompted them to take the report a little more seriously.

It’s not legal to own an alligator here, but officials believe it may have been someone’s pet and they released it back into the wild.

"The most important thing is that I don’t feel there’s a danger to the public. I think it’s fairly safe where it is. We’re not getting reports of pets missing or anything of that nature," said Steve Walker, Director of St. Mary’s County Emergency Services Department.

The county is working with a local wildlife group to capture the animal and take it to Florida.

And Amber Marchant

 Well, down in the Gulf states, where alligators are relatively common, and attack pets and rarely people, they're a long way down on the list of things to worry about. In a place where next to none occur, it shouldn't be a big worry.

"We think we’ve got a pretty good crew who’s doing it. There’s a local wildlife expert who is actually pursuing this and we are offering assistance to that person. He’s getting all the permitting for transporting the animal. We did provide some materials for him to build a trap," Walker said.

St. Mary’s County officials say they have never had a report of an alligator sighting in the area before so this is a first.

I'm not worried about 'gators, but its interesting to me that we've had two recent reports in our area. Most of the trafficked crocodilians are Caiman from South American, which fare poorly in our cold climate. But our native gators do survive the occasional frost in their native habitat, so what would prevent them from making a go of it here? Furthermore, I wouldn't be shocked to learn that these were not accidental or deliberate releases, but rather "rogue" animals that decided to wander away from southern climes, like Chessie the Manatee and found a northern home suitable. They're unlikely to get a breeding population together, but, given warmer temperatures, it could happen. I'd accept them in exchange for Bonefish and Tarpon.

The Wombat has both Rule 5 Sunday: Rabbit Season! posted at The Other McCain on time and under budget.