An alligator in Canada? Weird find in ditch included 5 big snakes — all dead, cops say
Alligators aren’t native to Canada, so police in Ontario have a true mystery on their hands after a dead one was found in a ditch the day after Christmas.
It gets weirder.
The alligator was accompanied by “5 large exotic snakes,” and they were dead, too, Ontario Provincial Police reported on social media.
Investigators didn’t give a size for the alligator, or details on the species of the exotic snakes.
But American alligators can reach 14 feet in their native turf — the southeastern United States, according to Federalregister.gov. And some get as hefty as 1,000 pounds, experts say.
On Dec 26, a passerby reported to #CaledonOPP 1 alligator & approx 5 large exotic snakes deceased in a ditch at Escarpment & Horseshoe Hill in @YourCaledon. If you have any info about the incident, please contact police at 1-888-310-1122 or @PeelCrimeStopp at 1-800-222-8477 ^jb pic.twitter.com/6qPTE4nj0I
— OPP Central Region (@OPP_CR) December 28, 2021
It’s not a creature Canadians are used to dealing with, because American alligators aren’t good with extreme cold. They seldom survive north of the North Carolina coast and west of Texas, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
That means the gator was roughly 800 miles north of its known range.
The odd grouping of carcasses was found by “a passerby” in a ditch in Caledon, which is part of the greater Toronto metro area. The ditch was near the intersection of Escarpment and Horseshoe Hill roads, which is a largely rural area.
Investigators have turned to Crime Stoppers for help and are asking for tips.
Meanwhile, the department’s Dec. 29 social media posts have ignited concerns over the possibility more exotic animals have been freed in the area.
Amateur sleuths suspect the reptiles were released alive and succumbed to the cold before being found.
“Wonder what would have happened if it were summer time,” Roberta Manitowabi-Roote posted on Facebook.
“This is really sick!” Laurie Christensen wrote. “Leave them in their own environment. We don’t need them in Canada and they cannot adapt to our climate (thank God).”
“This right here is my worse nightmare ... though worse if they were alive,” Samantha Page said.
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