'There's an Alligator in My Kitchen!'

Florida cops warn against feeding 'alpha predators'

(NEWSER) - A 10-foot alligator is on the loose in North Miami Beach, which sounds bad enough—but it turns out local kids have been feeding the beast meat. They named the storm-drain resident Patrick and treated him to hot dogs and ham, which is a seriously bad idea, a police sergeant tells the Miami Herald . "People think it's like feeding the ducks, and you're not," he explains. "You're dealing with an alpha predator." More»

Nadia Bloom of Florida had been gone for 5 days

(NEWSER) - Nadia Bloom is covered in mosquito bites—a welcome reality, considering what the 11-year-old could have been bitten by in an alligator-infested Florida swamp. Bloom, who is believed to have a mild form of autism, disappeared from her Winter Springs neighborhood 5 days ago and was found today. More»

Said to have come from local canal

(NEWSER) - Residents of a South Florida town found a surprise visitor in their pool last night: an 8-foot alligator. Someone—nobody owned up—tied the creature to a tree with an extension cord before calling for help, the Miami Herald reports. When deputies arrived, a crowd of 30 was ogling the gator; police called a trapper to collect it. "It thought it was home," said a sheriff's office rep. "We live in the Everglades. The alligators were here long before us." More»

Population control should be left to experts, critics say

(NEWSER) - Complaints about alligators creeping into people's pools and resting in roadside ditches have prompted several Southern states to allow hunters to track down the dinosaur descendants, the Christian Science Monitor reports. South Carolina hopes its first public hunt in decades will prevent dangerous gator incidents. But critics say the hunt should be left "to the pros"—not wannabe Steve Irwins. More»

(NEWSER) - Florida residents bailing out amid four days of relentless rain from Tropical Storm Fay now have a more hair-raising worry: alligators and snakes. The storm has dumped about 30 inches of rain on the state this week, sending gators and others critters into flooded streets and neighborhoods in search of dry ground, the AP reports. More»