Lorain/Elyria, OH
Gator gone wild in Elyria
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Pet alligator escapes cage
ELYRIA — A missing baby alligator has residents on one Elyria street sticking close to home while the creature wanders inside drainage ditches.
An empty cage behind a Lucille Drive home once contained an 18-inch baby alligator, but now the animal is on the loose. It peeks its head out from the ditch sometimes but is mostly out of sight, residents said.
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| JASON MILLER / CHRONICLE |
| One of Nancy Quayle’s pet alligators basks in her backyard on Lucille Drive in Elyria on Friday. |
But that doesn’t mean they want the reptile roaming around the neighborhood.
“My wife’s afraid,” said Doy Elder. “It sort of blends into the grass and was just laying there on the bank of our ditch when she came out the other day.”
Nancy Quayle said her pet alligator has been missing for about two days, but she is confident she will find it soon.
“He’ll be home caged when it’s time to feed it.
“I’ve had two before this,” she said. “They’re easy to take care of, and they don’t take much work.”
Keeping an alligator as a pet is not against any city ordinances. There were restrictions on keeping wildlife and farm animals passed last year, but the law was repealed later in the year.
“City ordinances are written around dogs at the moment,” said Dave Oakes, director of environmental health for the Elyria Health Department. “As long as people maintain them and they are not creating a public nuisance, there is little that can be done. But people do need to keep in mind that wildlife can be unpredictable.”
That’s why some residents of Lucille Drive are stepping gingerly when they are outside their home, and imaginations are running wild on what could happen if the alligator isn’t caught.
However, if you think the animal will lurk beneath the city feeding on whatever it can until crawls up your toilet or grows to the size of a monster and breaks through the ground on a hunt for larger prey, you will be mistaken.
Something like that has never happened, Oakes said.
“Alligator,” a horror flick circa 1980, this is not.
Contact Lisa Roberson at 653-6268 or lroberson@chroniclet.com.
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As a resident of Lucille drive I do not believe this exotic creature should be allowed to be a pet. The article quotes “unless it (wildlife) creates a public nuisance”, what is more of a nuisance than being afraid to let your pet out to do their business? Or than having a whole street of residents huddle around a drainage ditch for hours wondering if the creature will come out and if all is well again? I truely understand that this is Ms. Quayle’s pet and no doubt she loves it like anyone loves their pet. But I believe that on a street with numerous small children and pets, there is no place for an animal that by their nature is going to feed on small children and pets. It is not synonomous to a large breed dog attacking, if this animal was to harm someone how could it not be looked upon as gross negligence not only on Ms. Quayle but also on the City of Elyria for not doing anything about it.
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Just what I’ve always wanted to know and see: gator’s wild in Ohio.
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AS A RESIDENT OF LUCILLE DRIVE ,I FEEL THAT NO ONE SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO OWN A REPTILE ANIMAL AT THEIR RESIDENCE. I HAVE CHILDREN AND A SMALL DOG. IF THIS ALLIGATOR COMES NEAR MY CHILDREN OR PET, IT WILL NT ONLY TERRIFY MY CHILDREN, BUT COULD HURT MY PET. I AM IN FEAR FOR MY CHILDREN OVER ALL THE TERRIBLE THINGS GOING ON IN THIS CITY. I SHOULD NOT HAVE TO FEAR FOR A ALLIGATOR ON THE LOOSE ALSO. THERE ARE BREAKINS GOING ON ALL OVER ELYRIA. WE DON’T FEEL SAFE AS IT IS. I SHOULDN’T HAVE TO WORRY OVER A ALLIGATOR ON THE LOOSE. I AM VERY ANGRY THAT THIS PERSON WHO OWNS THIS ALLIGATOR HAS BEEN ABLE TO RAISE THEM AT HER RESIDENCE. I AS ONE OF HER NEIGHBORS DID NOT EVEN KNOW SHE HAD THEM. I WILL NOT FEEL SAFE UNTIL THESE ALLIGATORS ARE REMOVED FROM HER RESIDENCE AND THIS MISSING ALLIGATOR IS CAUGHT. “THIS IS ELYRIA PEOPLE.” NOT FLORIDIA, WHERE YOU SEE SUCH REPTILES. HAVE SOME CONSIDERATION FOR YOUR NEIGHBORS. THINK OF OTHER PEOPLE’S CHILDREN AND PETS. MY CHILDREN ARE MORE IMPORTANT THAN THIS ALLIGATOR.
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I understand that she feels love for her animal like all others do. But what you have to realize is when it comes between my love for my animals or my children, my children ALWAYS come first. My children are always on that street visiting their grandma, pawpaw, and their dog and now they all have to suffer for fear of something happening to them. This is not fair! Especially since their are so many children and animals that live on this street. One of its main selling points to homebuyers is that it is supposed to be a great street to live and raise children on. How is that with alligators out in someone’s backyard? And even more now because now that the children are aware of them, do you think they will actually stay away? Children are intrigued by nature, especially something you dont get to see everyday. So even with this one that is loose, we have to worry about the children sneaking over to get a glimpse of them and possibly getting hurt. And the crazy thing is that no one on this street even knew that she had them!!!! At least give the parents the consideration of letting them know to keep their children at bay!!!! I for one would like to know that you have a wild animal that its natural instinct is to hurt living things is living outside in a backyard just a few houses from mine. That way I have a choice as to if I want to continue living there or having my children walk down the street to their friends house with the possiblity of getting hurt!!
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