Alligators in Council Bluffs' Big Lake? DNR says 'highly unlikely,' but investigating
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is skeptical of certain toothy creatures currently calling Big Lake home. But a Council Bluffs man is emphatic -- he saw an alligator at the park.
With reports of several alligators inhabiting the Council Bluffs body of water flooding social media feeds within the past day, Alex Murphy, director of communications for the Iowa DNR, told the Nonpareil Wednesday just before 1 p.m. through an email that the sighting hadn’t been confirmed. ...
“The conservation officer didn't locate an alligator, but did see some logs in the water that may look like the back of an alligator,” Murphy said. “There were also fish swimming close to the surface that may have given the appearance of what the reports were of baby alligators, as well.”
Andrew O’Dell, who said he saw “six or seven” total alligators -- including a bigger mother gator -- said it’s frustrating that many are doubting his story.
A Florida native, O’Dell firmly said he knows what an alligator looks like. There’s no way he was mistaken, he added.
“I was born and raised in Florida, and I wrestled gators my whole entire life when I was growing up,” he said. “Same with iguanas and all sorts of other exotic animals; black racers, rattlesnakes -- pretty much any kind of reptile I could get my hands on catchin’ ‘em.
“And there are logs out there, quite a few railroad ties and a whole bunch of other debris out there … But I know the difference between a turtle and a log and a gator and a frog and a fish.” ...
“And now everything is blowing up, and now they are saying it’s a hoax and that we saw a log and all this other crap,” he said.
The solution in O’Dell’s mind is simple: go back out to Big Lake and wrangle a small gator into his kayak. ...
