Alligators In The Sewers

by Kandice Thompson

Real Alligators of the Sewers, by: The Crazz Files

Many people believe the myth of alligators living in the sewers. Many people also believe that alligators are more likely to live in the big cities with cold weather. Not like Miami, where alligators are popular there, but in a cold city like New York, alligators are not. Living in cold cities, alligators would not be able to live in the sewers because they are reptiles, and reptiles are cold blooded. In the city, Miami, alligators are usually normal. As stated on http://animalquestions.org/reptiles/alligators/ “Although it is true that alligator attacks on humans have occurred from time to time, as a general rule alligators do not typically attack humans unless provoked in some way first.” Most cases, there are some people who will wrestle with alligators just for fun, but usually it is known to just ignore them and not make them feel threatened. Alligators would also not be able to live in cold climate sewers because of the diseases that might be in them. There are all types of things that are in sewers. There is sewage, diseases, and disposal from homes that transport into the sewer system. Living in the sewers , alligators would not be able to survive in that type of environment with all of the disposal in the sewers.

There are many different stories on how exactly alligators get into the sewer system. But there are questions if it is true, or just a myth. In the late nineteen twenties and early nineteen thirties there was a popular story of a group of kids who was shoveling snow into a manhole. In that manhole, an alligator was found. No evidence was shown because the alligator attacked the children making the children with no choice but to kill it. Another one of the big stories on how alligators might have ended up into the sewers was by families giving their children baby alligators as pets. When the alligator grows too big and the family was unable to handle the reptiles, they would flush the creatures down the toilet.

On some accounts about alligators, there was pictures and videos to show evidence of alligators in the sewers. Some pictures showed construction pulling out an alligators with rope around the mouth to keep it from attacking. Other evidence that was given was a video on an alligator standing still in a drain just staring at the camera. The alligator did not move or attack. But one thing that stood out in the video was a ball in front of the alligator. Possibly the reptile was looking for someone or something to come down and get the ball, so it could attack.

Work cited:
“Alligator Found In Uptown Sewer.” New York Times, 10 Feb. 1935, http://www.sewerhistory.org/grfx/misc/critters.htm. 22 Oct. 2018

“Alligators in the Sewers”. Sewer History, 2004, http://www.sewerhistory.org/grfx/misc/critters.htm.

Bartholomew, Robert E. “Alligators in the Sewers!” Skeptic, vol. 21, no. 1, Mar. 2016, pp.60-61 http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=113837291&site=ehost-live&scope=site.

Gormley, Jesse. “Could Alligators Survive In The Sewers of New York City?” Ripley’s Believe It or Not!, July 2018, https://www.ripleys.com/weird-news/alligators-cant-live-in-the-sewers/.

Mikkelson, David. “ Do Alligators Live in the Sewers?” Snopes, 10 July 1999, https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/alligators-sewers/.

Radford,Benjamin. “Do Alligators Really Live In New York City Sewers?” LiveScience, 3 June 2011, https://www.livescience.com/33322-alligators-crocodiles-new-york-city-sewers.html.

Speed, Barbara.“Yes, They Really Have Found Alligators in the New York Sewer System.” City Metric, 12 Aug, 2014, https://www.citymetric.com/yes-they-really-have-found-alligators-new-york-sewer-system-102

“Man Discovers Huge Alligator Hiding In Sewer Outside His Home.” Youtube, 13 Dec. 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCWoxeOUJzc.

“Do Alligators Attack Humans?”, Animal Questions, 2018, http://animalquestions.org/reptiles/alligators/. 26 Oct. 2018.

Links for further research:
“Do Alligators Attack Humans?
http://animalquestions.org/reptiles/alligators/
Although crocodiles attack anything that moves in their sight, alligators are different. Alligators only attack when they feel threatened or their young is at harm. The female alligators give a warning when they feel they feel like they are being attacked. They give a hissing sound or they will open their mouth to let you know, to back off. Once you back off, then you won't be a meal. Most alligators eat fish but if they are hungry enough they will eat and find anything up to human size.

“Do Alligators Hibernate”
http://animalquestions.org/reptiles/alligators/do-alligators-hibernate/
Alligators are cold blooded.They have to stay in warm areas in order to live. Alligators have common sense to move to different locations to find heat. If the environment is too cold for them, they will try to go underground to find warmth. Even though they need warmth to live they are able to be in 40 degree Fahrenheit climate.

“Alligators of the Sewer- Real Ones!”
http://crazzfiles.com/alligators-of-the-sewers-real-ones/
In the early nineteen hundreds, an alligator was found in the sewers of New York City. New York City, Commissioner of Sewers, Teddy May, was told many stories on alligators living in the sewers, but he did not want to listen to them at first. He decided to investigate himself after hearing so many stories.

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