NewsCopter 7 was over the scene just after noon as crews captured the alligator in the Passaic River in Elmwood Park.
Advertisement
The state Department of Environmental Protection said the gator is 4 to 5 feet long and appears to be in good condition. It may have been a pet someone turned loose, reported by Elmwood Park Police Chief Mike Foligno.
A crowd of photographers and onlookers gathered at the marina in Elmwood Park while police and firefighters from the borough and Fair Lawn retrieved the gator.
The alligator was handed over to the state Fish and Wildlife Division.
“I think it was probably someone’s pet that got too big so they released it into the wild”, Foligno said. The station says a fisherman spotted it first.
Alligators aren’t native to northern New Jersey.
Advertisement
“It was cool to watch, ya know, but it don’t belong around here”, he said.
