Presque Isle State Park receives reports from public of alligator sightings
The group of people searching Presque Isle State Park’s beaches on Wednesday were looking for sand erosion, not the Lake Erie alligator.
The alleged alligator was first spotted Aug. 4 in the waters of Lake Erie near the foot of East Avenue. Matt Greene, Presque Isle’s operations manager, said the state park’s staff has since received reports from the public of alligator sightings at the peninsula. But none have been confirmed to be an alligator.
“We have not seen the alligator anywhere (on Presque Isle),” Greene said Wednesday. “We have been looking.”
Greene spoke to the Erie Times-News about the gator during the fall beach walk with national, state and local officials to evaluate erosion and sand replenishment efforts at the peninsula on Lake Erie. He said people have reported that they thought they saw an alligator in the Gull Point area on the park’s eastern end. At least one person told the Erie Times-News they saw an alligator in the park lagoons.
Presque Isle officials have received reports of alligator sightings at the state park.
But Greene said park staff have not been able to confirm any of the sightings were an alligator or confirm any alligator photos. He said it’s possible that what people saw were large beavers or otters, both of which are known to be at the park.
From July: River otter sightings increase at Presque Isle State Park as pair makes peninsula home
“At this point we have not been able to conclusively say there has been an alligator out here or not,” Greene said. “We will still keep our eye out. If people feel that they did see an alligator, please report to us.”
Greene said air and water temperatures will begin dropping soon and the likelihood of an alligator being able to survive at Presque Isle wasn’t good.
Dana Massing can be reached at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Lake Erie alligator sightings reported at Presque Isle State Park
#Presque #Isle #State #Park #receives #reports #public #alligator #sightings