Alligator in North Saskatchewan River

[Jenn]

Comment: Seems unlikely, but...

This was caught and Killed in the North Sask near Lloydminster. Sask Environment says it is true.

This is crazy!!!! This is Rob Grainger who is a CO in Lloydminster. Unreal!!!

Have a look at what came out of the North Sk River.

[UEL]

http://www.lloydexh.com/fair/mainEvents.php

http://www.lloydminster.ca/tourism/d...007revised.pdf

The first cite is about an alligator wrestler during Colonial Days in Lloydminster. The second is a tourist guide that has a section on the zoo, including the alligator.

I would suspect that this is a picture taken referring to one of the above.

I cannot identify the uniform or the vehicle. But the terrain definitely looks like it could be Alberta/Saskatchewan.

[Brad from Georgia]

Where baby gators grow it's the hot, hot sun that hatches one,
So that one may not have been born up in Saskatchewan.
But alligators travel through rivers and over land-ia,
So I wouldn't say that that one couldn't wander up to Canada.
I'm no biologist, and I'm no urban-legend purist,
So I say "Who knows? The gator may have been a tourist."

[Jenn]

Originally Posted by UEL

I cannot identify the uniform or the vehicle.

It's probably a Ministry of Environment Conservation Officer uniform. Mr Grainger is listed as on the executive of Saskatchewan Association of Conservation Officers.

[franjava]

Originally Posted by Brad from Georgia

Where baby gators grow it's the hot, hot sun that hatches one,
So that one may not have been born up in Saskatchewan.
But alligators travel through rivers and over land-ia,
So I wouldn't say that that one couldn't wander up to Canada.
I'm no biologist, and I'm no urban-legend purist,
So I say "Who knows? The gator may have been a tourist."

Wordy geek.

[Brad from Georgia]

Originally Posted by franjava

Wordy geek.

It's my job.

[Jenn]

Originally Posted by UEL

But the terrain definitely looks like it could be Alberta/Saskatchewan.

I received a larger version of the photo that let me zoom in on the little bit of the license plate that's visible. It reads "Land of Living Skies so it's definitely a Saskatchewan plate.

[crocoduck_hunter]

People have been known to dump pet alligators into local waterways when they realize that the cute, stripy little guy that ate goldfish now represents a threat to neighborhood dogs.

[PrairieBlueEyes]

Something about the photo has really been bugging me. Why is the alligator in the truck in such a weird position? Its tail seems to be bent under and one would think that it would have been stretched out the length of the truck bed. It also looks like the right front foot is not touching the tailgate and the whole animal might be in danger of falling off the truck.

[PrairieBlueEyes]

Update on the N. Sask. alligator. Not as exciting as the original idea. I wonder who decided it would be better to lie about this? I guess it does make a better story to say it was found in the river.
http://www.thestarphoenix.com/techno...794/story.html

[Floater]

Originally Posted by PrairieBlueEyes

Why is the alligator in the truck in such a weird position?

Posing for the picture?

[Mama Duck]

"It's the same reason there's not elephants here," he said.

Aren't elephants mammals though? So the reason you don't have elephants in Saskatchewan isn't exactly the same as why you don't have alligators. Though I'm sure climate plays a large role in both.

Originally Posted by Mama Duck

Aren't elephants mammals though? So the reason you don't have elephants in Saskatchewan isn't exactly the same as why you don't have alligators. Though I'm sure climate plays a large role in both.

I'd say...neither of them could survive -40C winters unless in a well insulated and heated zoo habitat.

[crocoduck_hunter]

Originally Posted by Mama Duck

Aren't elephants mammals though? So the reason you don't have elephants in Saskatchewan isn't exactly the same as why you don't have alligators. Though I'm sure climate plays a large role in both.

Elephants are mammals, but their lack of fur makes them extremely susceptible to frostbite- they can't stay outdoors in freezing weather. However, they still don't have it as bad as crocodilians do in cold weather- all crocodilians need to bask in warm sunlight in order to digest their food. If the temperature gets too low, food will literally rot in their stomachs.

[PrairieBlueEyes]

Today's article did say that neither the climate nor the habitat are suitable for either the alligator or the elephant. Neither would be able to find the foods that they subsist on in their proper habitats. Well, maybe the alligator could live on SK fish but most are pretty bony.

[Floater]

Originally Posted by crocoduck_hunter

Elephants are mammals, but their lack of fur makes them extremely susceptible to frostbite- they can't stay outdoors in freezing weather.

They can't?

[PrairieBlueEyes]

That article does say that the elephants can stay outdoors for about 4 hours on a warm, sunny winter's day. So they obviously have to have indoor quarters for them. I once raised zebra finches (a species originally from Australia) and cockatiels and would allow their outdoor aviary to stay open until the temperatures went down to about -18C (about 0 deg. F). They would all be huddled together on a perch in the sunshine. When the sun was gone they went back inside where it was heated.

Having an indoor, heated facility in Ontario is a far cry from living year-round outdoors in Saskatchewan.

A) The Alligator is in such a weird position because it is still frozen.
B) He didn't "lie" about it, he just sent a joke email to about 30 friends. Those friends never got the joke and BS in it and forwarded it on.