# In rain-drenched N.J., police find alligator in woman's backyard



## kwflatbed (Dec 29, 2004)

In rain-drenched N.J., police find alligator in woman's backyard

The Associated Press

PISCATAWAY, N.J.- With all the rain, New Jersey may have seemed like a swamp this week. But alligators?

Piscataway police recovered a 3-foot long alligator in the backyard of a house on Saturday.

"It's not normal to find an alligator around here," said Lt. George Maurer. He added with a chuckle, "I know we've had a lot of rain."

In his 28 years, Maurer had never heard of an alligator in town, but when police arrived at the house, they discovered the woman was right.

An animal control officer trapped it in a cage and took it to an animal shelter.

Neither the woman nor authorities knew how the alligator got there, Maurer said. In other cases in which alligators have been found in areas where they don't normally live, the animals had been released by people who had ill-advisedly kept them as pets.








_Copyright 2005 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed._


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## SOT (Jul 30, 2004)

I grew up there...it's a Camen...there was a bunch of them let go from PHS...years ago and some how they survive the cold winters...


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## Goose (Dec 1, 2004)

SOT_II said:


> I grew up there...it's a Camen...there was a bunch of them let go from PHS...years ago and some how they survive the cold winters...


You're a Jersey boy...ha:

Is that how you got your start in weaponry? B:


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## SOT (Jul 30, 2004)

Yes I am...and yes I worked in a gun shop during part of college.
Ray's Sporting Goods on Rt 22 in Plainfield, NJ....


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