People who live in Maryland don’t often have to worry about alligators in the area, but residents of a Beltsville apartment complex recently received an alarming email warning them of a reptile “on the loose” on the property.
“It was brought to our attention a reptile which looks like an alligator is on the property loose,” the apartment’s management wrote in the email.
Management at the Lighthouse at Twinlakes Apartment Homes complex said they contacted animal control and Maryland wildlife officials.
“Please be careful while entering and exiting your home,” the email said. “Please be mindful of your kids playing outside and while walking your pets.”
The area surrounding the complex appears to be an idyllic habitat for an alligator with its large, dark green, swampy-looking pond full of dozens of swimming and quacking ducks.
“It’s a feeding frenzy,” apartment resident Synai Williams said, joking as she talked about the ducks and the possibility of an alligator on the loose.
“Everyone said they saw the email, but no one I’ve encountered has told me that they’ve seen this alligator,” Williams said. “I don’t know if the alligator is still out here or what.”
Employees in the leasing office told WTOP that the animal had not been captured as of Tuesday afternoon.
“We haven’t received any correspondence to indicate whether animal control actually found the reptile,” resident Dean Attride said.
Another resident, Kenisha Bryan, said she was scared, both for herself and her 2-year-old grandson.
“When I’m coming out, I have to be running to my vehicle,” Bryan said. “I’m not sure who saw it or where they actually saw it.”
If there is indeed an alligator on the loose in Maryland, it may belong to someone — the reptiles are not native to Maryland and are not allowed to be kept as pets under state law.
“The American alligator is found in the United States from North Carolina to the Rio Grande in Texas,” according to the National Zoo. “Alligators are usually found in freshwater, slow-moving rivers. They also live in swamps, marshes and lakes.”
