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Gators in New York's Sewer

Dec 27, 2006

The sewers of New York are swarming with alligators. They have been spotted everywhere including in people's back yards, the Bronx River, and even coming up through people's toilets!

On August 12, 1982 a 26-inch alligator was found swimming in Kenisco Reservoir in Westchester New York (part of the water supply for the city). There have been problems with gators long before '82. On February 10, 1935 some boys who were shoveling snow into a manhole discovered a 6-foot alligator trying to get out of the sewer. He was not a healthy gator and at first the boys tried to help the poor guy out, but when he started snapping at them, they got scared. They beat the gator with their shovels and killed him.

Last but not least, there are the numerous horror stories about people in New York City apartments going to use the bathroom and finding a gator trying to make it's way into their house from their toilet bowls.

The reason gators are swimming free in the sewer? Carnivals in Florida sold baby gators, especially to city children from New York. And when the novelty wore off, kidz just flushed them down the toilet where the gators have lived ever since.

Believe it or Not? Take our poll to see what others think.

I'm sure we've all heard different versions of last weeks Believe It or Not called Nasty Boil. None of them are true, including last weeks, but it's still fun to tell them.

Here are last weeks poll results:

Believe It or Not?

Yes: 43 percent
No: 43 percent
I don't know: 13 percent

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