Boston residents can breathe a little easier — the mysterious reptile spotted slinking along the Charles River this week really was an alligator, and wildlife officials say it’s now safely in custody.
According to The Associated Press, the small alligator, roughly a foot long, triggered confusion, double-takes, and viral social media posts after several stunned onlookers recorded it slipping in and out of the river. Because alligators aren’t native to Massachusetts — and certainly aren’t built for freezing New England winters — state wildlife teams quickly launched a search.
The animal’s brief adventure ended Wednesday night when a local wildlife educator tracked it down. The Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife confirmed Thursday that the young gator has been rescued and is now in temporary care while officials work to secure a permanent home.
Among the first to report the reptile was Harvard graduate student Whitney Lieberman, who spotted it during her morning run.
“Yeah, I did a double-take,” Lieberman said. “For a second, I had to check myself — alligators are not native to Boston waterways, right? I texted my coworkers because I had a morning meeting: ‘Hey guys, this is a good excuse to be late for work. There is an alligator right in front of me and I don’t know what to do.’”
With temperatures hovering around 51 degrees, the cold-blooded reptile was in real danger. Alligators need much warmer environments, typically above 80 degrees, and rely on heat sources to regulate their bodies. Without them, they enter a low-energy survival state called brumation — something Massachusetts weather is ill-suited to support.
Joe Kenney, owner of “Joe’s Craz-zy Critters,” located and captured the small gator. MassWildlife said Kenney has temporary authorization to house the reptile while officials determine its long-term placement. Kenney noted the young gator is harmless at its current size.
He suspects the gator was an illegal pet.
“An alligator isn’t designed to live in a fish tank,” Kenney said. “Really, ideally, it should be living out in the swamp in the southern United States. And they can get pretty big. So even though this guy is still little, by the time he’s somewhere around 10, 15 years old, he’ll be an adult alligator.”
MassWildlife echoed that point, reminding the public that keeping alligators or any crocodilian species as pets is illegal in Massachusetts.
“This incident serves as an important reminder that it is not legal to keep alligators or any crocodilian species as pets in Massachusetts,” state herpetologist Mike Jones said.
The agency says the gator’s appearance remains under investigation, though the likeliest explanation is an escaped or intentionally released pet.
It’s not the first time an alligator has caused a stir far from home — Boston saw another one show up along the Charles in 2010, and in 2019 Chicago famously dealt with “Chance the Snapper.”
This latest escapee may soon have a new name as well: some locals have already suggested calling the reptile “Charles.”
