Alligator found in mountain range hundreds of miles from swamps in Florida
Officials were shocked to discover an alligator roaming the mountains as more and more gators push their way into heavily populated areas not used to living with the killer beasts.
The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency posted photos on Facebook Tuesday showing two of their wildlife officers with the not-so-large beast that they had caught in the state's Appalachian Mountain range, as the sharp-toothed reptiles begin to expand their territory and move into the state from the southern states in America.
According to the post, Wildlife Officers Hunter Poore and Colt Elrod trapped the alligator in Rhea County and transported the reptile to the Chattanooga Zoo. Photos show the pair putting the alligator in a cage after measuring it. They did not list how big the alligator was in the post.
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The agency did not list how big the alligator was in the post (Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency)The agency added in the post: "This is #allinadayswork for #wildlifeofficers but #alligators are NOT the norm. PLEASE #don'tdumpyourpets!"
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Alligators have popped up across the state, the agency said on their website. A seven-foot alligator was recently seen in the Wold River WMA in Fayetee County, in the western part of the state.
"Alligators are naturally expanding their range into Tennessee from the southern border states," the agency said on their website. "TWRA has not stocked any alligators in Tennessee. Alligators expanding into Tennessee is just another species that we must learn to coexist with like many of the other southern states."
According to the agency, alligators are able to survive the state's harsh winters by going into brumation - a hibernation-like dormancy.
Alligators have popped up across the state, the agency said on their website (Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency)"TWRA would like to remind everyone that alligators are a protected species and catching or shooting one is a violation of the law," the agency said. "If you come across one while exploring the outdoors in West TN, leave it alone and enjoy Tennessee’s unique biodiversity."
The discovery of the alligator in Tennessee comes a few days after floating bodies of two alligators without heads and tails were found in a Florida canal, leaving residents both concerned and repulsed.
The two bodies were found in Lehigh Acres, in Lee County, Florida. But residents say this isn't the first headless gator they've come across.
Peter Powley and his girlfriend, Sadie, told local outlet NBC 2 they saw the bodies while off-roading next to a canal on Saturday morning. Peter explained to the outlet: "We were riding down the trail.
I was with my girlfriend, and we saw the gator, so I stopped and took a picture, and I saw you guys. I was like, hey, there's a gator over there."
The two bodies recovered were found without heads or tails and had vultures sitting on top of them and covered in flies. They were found in the canal near Stratton Road and Cemetery Road.
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