The monster under the bed, the reptilians under our feet … Legend has it that in the late 1920s, a New York boy tired of his pet decided to flush it down the toilet and flush the toilet. Years later, when working cleaning the sewers of New York he would meet her again, now being a gigantic alligator with a thirst for revenge … Who would not believe the remote possibility that this terrifying story was true? Today, between everything we’ve seen on the big screen and the wacky news coming out of the United States, we can expect just about anything.
According to some New Yorkers, concerned by the rumors, their sewers are infested with ownerless alligators that feed on everything in their path, be it garbage or rats. In fact, The New York Times reports that it is common for the city council to receive letters regarding the existence of these animals under the soil of the big city.
In the 1930s, the purchase of baby alligators became popular, they were even sold in magazines like Popular Mechanics for the modest price of 1.5 dollars and wealthy families who went on vacation to Florida, returned with a small souvenir reptile. “It was a time when alligators were bred for sale in New York, and they could end up in one of two ways: either escaping on their own or in the toilet of some unhappy parents,” says Michael Miscione, a longtime Manhattan borough historian. At that time, a similar story was told about the invasion of wild boar in the sewers of Hampstead, London.
But can alligators really survive and reproduce in unsanitary conditions? As almost always, science has the answer. According to expert herpetologists, the survival of reptiles in the New York sewer is impossible , and even less their reproduction. Among other things, due to the toxicity of human feces and the low temperatures of its waters. In addition, during torrential rains it would be washed away by the great flow of water from the pipes.
Despite the opinion of the scientists, some sewer workers still come down armed to the teeth, because of what could happen; and even the city has Alligator in the Sewer Day, the day of the alligator in the sewers, which is February 9. Finally, to curl the curl, it is believed that these animals are albinos and red-eyed, because by living for so long without sunlight, they would have lost their sight, the pigment of the skin and the eyes, an explanation purely lamarquista.
However, every legend can have a part of the truth. Despite being illegal the sale or possession of these reptiles as pets, the city council recognizes each year collecting some small specimens of alligator abandoned by their owners.
References: Kilgannon, C. (2020, February 26). The Truth About Alligators in the Sewers of New York. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/26/nyregion/alligators-sewers-new-york.html
