The cold-shocked alligator pulled from Brooklyn’s Prospect Park lake over the weekend was found to have swallowed a 4-inch wide bathtub stopper — and now is being nursed back to health at the Bronx Zoo, officials said.
The lethargic gator was spotted floating in the water near Duck Island by the park’s southeastern edge – an area popular with children – and removed by park workers.
The Bronx Zoo confirmed in a Wednesday statement that the animal is now in their care and undergoing a medical evaluation.
Radiographs conducted while at the zoo indicate that the reptile – which is estimated to be between 5 and 6 years old – had ingested the bathtub stopper.
“The alligator is currently in too weakened a condition to attempt removal of the stopper,” the zoo said in a statement. “We will continue to provide supportive care for her and determine next steps based on how she responds to treatment.”
Officials have said that the errant beast was likely an unwanted pet whose owner decided to release it in public waters.
“The tragedy of this situation is a reminder that wild animals do not make good pets and that responsible pet ownership means making choices that will not negatively impact an individual animal or the environment,” the zoo said in the statement.
The gator is also “extremely emaciated” – weighing in at only 15 pounds, while gators of that size typically weigh between 30 and 35 pounds.
It was also “lethargic and suffering from exposure to cold temperatures,” officials said.
“After arriving at the Bronx Zoo, the animal was slowly warmed to an appropriate ambient temperature and received supportive care,” the statement continued. “Too weak and unresponsive to eat on its own, the alligator, a female, is being tube-fed to provide her with nutrients as well as fluids, Vitamin B, antibiotics and an antifungal medication.”
At the time of the initial sighting, the city Parks Enforcement Patrol and Urban Park Rangers quickly responded, removed the gator from the water and brought it to its first stop – Animal Care Centers of NYC’s Brooklyn location – prior to its arrival at the zoo.
“It’s totally unexpected,” Joseph Puleo, vice president of District Council 37, which reps the city park workers, told The Post at the time.
“We were notified by someone who saw it. It wasn’t moving really at all.”
Park patrons who expected a quiet Sunday morning were more than a little caught off guard by the incident.
“If I saw that gator, I would have kicked it back in the water!” said a Brooklyn man who only gave the name Moses as he sat in a lawn chair near the scene.
“You’d never expect to see something like that here. But man, I feel bad for it,” Moses said. “It shouldn’t be in a lake. Animals are like people, you know?”