Police, volunteers work to trap alligator in Chicago park

CHICAGO — Authorities in Chicago are trying to capture an alligator that somehow made its way to a city park.

The gator was first spotted Tuesday morning by a photographer who was doing a photo shoot at the Humboldt Park Lagoon, WGN-TV reported.

Since then, Chicago police "independently confirmed" that the creature in the lagoon is indeed an alligator between 4 and 5 feet long, tweeted Chicago police Chief Communications Officer Anthony Guglielmi.

Police hoped to catch the alligator by Tuesday night and take it to a zoo "for veterinary evaluation," Guglielmi tweeted. Authorities set three traps containing different baits, including raw chicken, rat and bluegill, according to The Chicago Tribune. Volunteers with the Chicago Herpetological Society aided in the search.

However, the reptile managed to evade capture, and the search continued into Wednesday.

A volunteer helping police in the search who goes by "Alligator Bob" told The Tribune he believes the gator may have been someone's pet, and was dumped in the lagoon by its owner when it got too big.

“This is the problem with these types of animals. If people would only turn them in. Walk into animal control, walk into the front desk and say, ‘I found this,’ and they’ll take care of it,” Alligator Bob said.

People flocked to Humboldt Park to try to catch a glimpse of the alligator Wednesday afternoon, local media reported. Chicago police have asked the public to give the gator and search volunteers space.

"Alligator Bob is the hero we all deserve right now," The Chicago Police Department 14th District tweeted. "Give him space and let him humanely catch our new friend."

Cox Media Group