...I shore dive a lot. I would not like to encounter one in water. Encountered sharks blah blah no problem.
Folks in Florida, and probably parts of Georgia and Louisiana too, are used to alligators but Chicago residents were very surprised to recently encounter a gator in a lagoon at a local city park. The critter was probably dumped there by someone who had him as an illegal pet until he started getting too big.
The gator quickly became a local celebrity and there were "spot the gator!" vigils and radio contests and a lot of gator-themed fun going on across the city and suburbs. Some wit named the creature "Chance the Snapper" after local celebrity "Chance the Rapper" and the name really caught on.
Local park and animal control workers had no luck capturing the elusive critter so they finally called in a Florida gator expert to do the job for them. Happily, no gators or humans were harmed during the capture. Now the Gator Whisperer has become a local hero too, and he was invited to throw out the first pitch at last night's Cubs game and to turn on the water at Buckingham Fountain this morning.
Authorities say that they are looking for a zoo or sanctuary to provide a good home for Chance the Snapper - but I hope that he stays in Chicago, we have some nice Zoological Parks here!
Last night on Jimmy Fallon, Chance the Rapper sent some words of encourage to his namesake!
Here are some links about Chance the Snapper, the little gator that captivated the Windy City:
Chance the Snapper Captured:
Chance the Rapper on Jimmy Fallon:
https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/chance-the-rapper-snapper-alligator-chicago-humboldt-park-fallon-512816091.html