Canada Zoo curator seeking elusive reptile (Via Paul Cropper)

Zoo curator seeking elusive reptile
Nicole O'Reilly
Mercury news services
5 May 2010
Guelph Mercury

HAMILTON, ON

Equipped with ropes and his bare hands, Bry Loyst spent Tuesday traversing a shallow, murky pond in Hamilton's Confederation Park searching for an elusive crocodile or alligator. After several hours, the daytime search was called off in favour of a nighttime search, where Loyst's crew and Hamilton Conservation Authority staff hoped to spot the reptile's eyes that glow when flashed with light. But no such luck.

The pond leads into a creek, and eventually Lake Ontario - though that would be quite a journey for a cold, scared reptile, experts said. Loyst, curator of the Indian River Reptile Zoo near Peterborough, was called in to find the crocodilian species after a local birder, Tom Badeau, discovered the reptile and sent a photo to the authority Monday. The photo shows what looks like a small alligator poking its head out of the water.

Despite no sightings Tuesday, Loyst said he is quite sure, based on the photo and a faraway sighting Monday, that it's one of 23 crocodile or alligator species. If captured, it will find a new home at Loyst's zoo. The animal must have been released from captivity, he said, adding that people who keep reptiles as pets often release them when they get too big.

And though he cautioned the public to stay away from the suspected alligator if spotted, he said there is no serious public risk. The greater concern is the survival of the reptile. Crocodilian species do not eat in temperatures below 18C and the cold temperatures make them slow, Loyst said. They can survive a year without food, but cannot survive winter temperatures. Conservation authority assistant ecologist Lisa Jennings said it's hard to say how often animals are dumped into local ecosystems since offenders are rarely caught.
Last year, the spawn of illegally dumped goldfish had to be removed from ponds in the Dundas Valley because they ate the eggs of endangered Jefferson salamanders and other native amphibians.

In the same pond where crews searched for the gator, there was also an exotic turtle species - a red ear slider - that had to have been dumped, Jennings said. "Education is No. 1 when it comes to owning exotic species," she said. "Take it to a zoo, the SPCA, where you purchased it." The Confederation Park pond is also home to many birds, carp - which could be seen spawning in the shallow water - and turtles, including snapping turtles, a "species of concern" under the Endangered Species Act. But an alligator would be of no threat to them.
Paul Kennedy, The Reptile Man, and owner of The Reptile Store on King Street East in Hamilton, said it's a shame that a few reptile owners ruin things for the responsible ones.

He has a three-metre caiman and a three-metre alligator, which he uses for educational purposes in his store.
This creature, probably an alligator, was spotted at Van Wagner's Beach in Hamilton and an unsuccessful search was launched Tuesday. Tom Badeau, Mercury news services