Crocs In the Sewers

Tabatha Grant-Ravenell

Crocodiles in the sewers the urban legend founded in the streets of New York City.  Crocodiles in the sewers or as authors would call them alligators. They were stink feces caring species. They are known for their capability to close their nostrils to undergo a transition to interact with the strong toxic fumes for their survival. The crocodiles typically live in smaller enclosed areas of the sewers so they can more easily observe their surroundings. The stink sewer crocodiles have the ability to morph their skin into a thick outer shell so their skin can withstand the harsh heat, fumes, odors, and effects of the feces on a normal skin layer.

The foul odor crocodiles have evolved into far more than the normal creature, and in today’s society are utilized for far large purpose. It all started with Marty Hall from Manunst, Michigan who was both blind and deaf. The national animal society took the crocodiles and trained them to work as service animals allowing disables people, such as Marty, to undergo harsh conditions essentially molding a super human. The crocodiles have almost in a way taught Marty their survival skills, teaching him to use and strength. It is all very questionable to what all of these various authors feel about this hoax. Many people believed that Crocodiles in the sewers were trying to snatch little children through the toilet and take them down to the sewers along with them.

Crocodile searching for a child [newspaper style setup]

 
From another source people did not understand or knew what the meaning of the crocodiles in the sewers was. Only the head officials knew the cause of everything and how the alligators were reacting when people got involved trying to capture one of them they would open their mouths wide and try bite and attack anyone. They say they don’t have photographs or reliable news search. Although it made people believe the urban legend of the Crocodiles in the sewers. They said that every Monday the city would celebrate the urban legend. They wanted people to talk about the other logical legends they have heard because were starting to think that it was true. They wanted to be known to a premise that wasn’t true. There couldn’t find other urban legends that were located in the New York area but people were more focused on Crocodiles in the sewers.


Work Cited:
Salazar, Cristian. "Alligators in the sewer and more urban legends and hoaxes that fooled NYC." amNewYork (New York, NY) 9 Feb. 2015, Lifestyle.NewsBank.Web. 14 Oct. 2015.

Links for further Research:
"Weird New York."Weird New York.Web. 21 Oct. 2015.
"Crocodiles In The Sewers (New York)." Prezi.com.Web. 21 Oct. 2015.
Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Web. 21 Oct. 2015.

Alligators in the Sewers

Author: Brittani Gladden

Photo from thatpetplace.com

New York City is known to be a fun and interesting place to be. It is known for its extravagant landscape with some of the biggest skyscrapers, as well as being an amazing shopping district. But among all the hustle and bustle of this incredible city, there is something mysterious lurking below these busy streets.

In the 1920’s and 30’s, New Yorkers vacationing to Florida would bring back baby alligators, for their children to keep as pets. However, when the alligators grew to uncomfortable sizes and no longer were considered cute, they were flushed down the toilet. When flushed, they ended up in the sewer system, where they would manage to live and breed. Since there is little to no sunlight in the sewer systems, the alligators are said to have become albino, where their hide would fade to white and their eyes would turn red. The story goes that their descendants are there still till this day.

According to a newspaper article from the “New York Times”, in 1935 youth boys assigned to throw snow in the sewers, found an eight-foot alligator lurking in the chilling waters below. The alligator was claimed to have swam from the Harlem River. Several years later according to Robert Daley’s 1959 book, “The World Beneath the City”, a colony of alligators had settled comfortably into the sewers of New York. In 1935 it was proposed to the Superintendent of Sewers, Teddy May that the alligators lived in the sewer. May refused to believe the reports at first. He says that he believed the guys down there when the eight-foot alligator was spotted, was drinking. When Teddy May finally decided go into the pipes to have a look, what he found was very shocking. An excerpt from Daley’s book showed what May said about the situation:

Alligators were serenely paddling around in his sewers. The beam of his own flashlight had spotlighted alligators whose length, on average, was about two feet. Some may have been longer. Avoiding the swift current of the trunk lines under major avenues, the beasts had wormed up the smaller pipes under less important neighborhoods, and there Teddy had found them.  (Daley)

After the sighting May supposedly had a change of heart. Teddy May was known to exaggerate his stories, so no one knows if he actually saw the alligators. 

Many YouTube videos show alligators living in the sewer systems. Although these sewer systems are not necessarily those in New York, it does show that alligators somehow can manage in the sewer. In a documentary video found on YouTube, researchers sent a robot into a sewer system in New York to hunt down the alligators. The robot never found an alligator in the sewer, but it did find enough vegetation for an alligator to survive on if needed. Another discovery pointed out was a salamander living in a New York sewer. Salamanders are much like alligators in the fact that they need warm environments to thrive. Since sewers are usually very cold especially during winter, and alligators require warm environments year-round, there could be no way they could survive in the sewers for long amounts of time. If they do not die from the cold, they would certainly die from the polluted water.

Since there is not much evidence that alligators live in the New York sewer systems, and you decide to go through a New York sewer system, you should not have too much to worry about, other than the occasional smell and bug.

Works Cited

“Are Alligators Living Under New York City” YouTube. Google. 4 Mar. 2009. Web. 13 Oct. 2013.

Clark, Jerome. “Alligators Found in Uptown Sewer.” New York Times. 10 Feb. 1935. Print.

Emery, David. “Alligators in the Sewer.” About. The New York Times. Nd. Web. 10 Oct. 2013.

Indiviglio, Frank. “Fishing for Alligators.” Photograph. The Reptile Blog, Blogspot. 23 Oct. 2009. Web. 18 Oct.2013

Krystek, Lee. “Allegations of Alligators in the Sewers of New York.” Unmuseum. N.P. N.D. Web. 13 Oct. 2013.

Mikkelson, Barbara. “Gatored Community.” Snopes. Np. 12 July 2009. Web. 10 Oct. 2013.

“The World Beneath the City.” Sewergator. N.P. N.D. Web. 18 Oct. 2013

Links for further research:

Live Science

http://www.livescience.com/33322-alligators-crocodiles-new-york-city-sewers.html

This website discusses the legend of alligators living in the sewers of New York City.

The New York Times

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/23/the-book-behind-the-sewer-alligator-legend/?_r=0

This website talks more about what Teddy May had to say about the findings of the alligators in the sewer system.

Cryptomundo

http://www.cryptomundo.com/cryptozoo-news/sewers-gators-real/

This website discusses more about the legend of Alligators living in the sewer systems of New York

Lake Champlain Monster

Author: Blair Russell

Is Lake Champlain Monster Real? 

Lake Champlain received it’s named from a man named, Samuel de Champlain. Samuel was a European explorer and stated he saw monsters swimming around in the lake in the early 1600’s. Lake Champlain Monster is a sea monster that is known to live in Lake Champlain. Some people refer to the lake as “Lake Champ” for short. Champlain forms the border between New York and Vermont. The lake reaches all the way across to Canada. Lake Champlain runs 109 miles long and 11 miles in width. Many people refer to Lake Champlain’s as a version of the loch ness monster. 

 The first sighting of the lake monster comes from a Native American who says he saw the monster in the lake and refers to it as a “beast.” (“Lake Champlain Monster”). Numerous sightings have been reported over the years about seeing the Lake Champlain Monster. People who have claimed to see the monster describe it as having a long neck, a head that resembles that of a horse, humps going up and down the back, and having a dark toned skin color. Champlain monster is 15-50 feet. Although these individuals describe the lake monster with these certain characteristics, Samuel de Champlain described the monster totally different.

            According to the explorer, Samuel Champlain, the monster he saw in the lake was only 5 feet long instead of 15-50 feet long. (“Lake Champlain Monster”). He also claimed the monster had sharp teeth, such as fangs, and the head did not resemble a horse’s head, but instead more of an oval appearance. Later research finds the monster Samuel de Champlain claimed to have spotted was a plesiosaur. These types of creatures are extinct now and lived thousand of years ago.

            Lake Champ had many attractions and was very popular in the ‘60s but after then the tourists and attractions died down a little bit; this was until a photo film came out of the monster. A woman named Sandra Mansi, is the only person recorded in the world who has a photograph of the Champlain Monster. On July 5, 1997 Sandra and her husband were out on Lake Champlain with their two children. As Sandra was sitting on the shore, while her husband ventured to the car to grab the camera, is when she spotted the monster. Mansi had not a clue what she was seeing in the water, but she claimed to have thought it was a school of fish at first.  Mansi stated in an interview, “I was scared to death…I felt like I shouldn’t be there” (Mansi). Mansi and her family gained a good fortunate of capturing what could be the only photograph of Lake Champlain’s monster.

There were three analysis’s done of Mansi’s photograph because many people believed the photo to be a hoax. One professor whose specialty was dynamics examined the photo. Professor LeBlond was able to announce the approximate length and width of the monster’s lower and front portions, but not the middle section because it was under water. (Lake Champlain) 

Ben Radford, another man who analyzed Mansi’s photograh had a different description of the monster than LeBlond. According to Radord the head of the monster is not connected with the hump of the monster. Radford states, “The actual body contortion is very unusual and unlikely for nearly any type of living animal” (Radford).

Lake Champlain’s monster is a very mysterious, skeptical creature. It’s crazy to believe there actually could be this huge, atrocious monster swimming around Lake Champlain. Many people believe a monster truly lives in Champ’s lake, while other people believe it is just a legend and there isn’t anything living down in the sands of Lake Champlain. So, here’s a question for you. Do you believe in Lake Champlain’s monster?

Works Cited:

“The Lake Champlain Basin” Photo. Google.com. Web. 17 Oct 2012.

"Lake Champlain monster." Chambers Dictionary of the Unexplained. London: Chambers Harrap, 2007. Credo Reference. Web. 11 October 2012.

Wilford, John Noble. "IS IT LAKE CHAMPLAIN'S MONSTER?" The New York Times. The New York Times, 30 June 1981. Web. 13 Oct. 2012.

Radford, Benjamin. "Features: Articles." Lake Champlain Monster. Fortean Times, Apr. 2004. Web. 13 Oct. 2012.

Radford, Ben. "The Measure of a Monster: Investigating the Champ Photo." CSI. The Committee for Skeptical Inquiry, July 2003. Web. 14 Oct. 2012.

Links for further research:

Weird U.S.

http://www.weirdus.com/states/new_york/bizarre_beasts/champ_/index.php

The mysterious story and sightings of Lake Champlain monster are presented.

The Lake Champlain Monster?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmT-VibmdtU

This video shows Lake Champlain and the “monster” swimming around the lake.

Lake Champlain – A plesiosaur?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfzAGsVvyfE

An interview on ABC News of a man who saw Lake Champlain’s monster swimming in the lake.