University Of Florida Researchers Said They Found An ‘Abundance’ Of Alligators In A Very Surprising Place

It sounds like a whopper that your gampy would tell, but this one is totally real: There are alligators living in the sewers in Gainesville.

A recent study conducted by the University of Florida found that the sewer systems designed to hold stormwater are home to a lot more than rain runoff.  “It’s like something out of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” Alan Ivory, a Ph.D. student at the University of Florida, who led the study told the New York Times. “The abundance of animals down there was surprising.”

The American alligator, also known by its scientific name, Alligator mississippiensis, was among seven types of reptiles found in the storm sewage systems. There were plenty of other critters turning the sewers into a home, too.

The team used motion-activated trail cameras to monitor the animal activity around stormwater drains over the course of two months. They found that there were 35 different animal species, including armadillos, snakes, frogs, lizards, moles, raccoons, and 12 species of birds, all using the sewers either by choice or seemingly by accident after being swept in by rain.

The animals all appear to be using the sewers as they learn to live in “human-modified environments”, according to the study, which was published in the journal Urban Naturalist. The alligators and their three dozen other kinds of animal friends use the sewers under the Florida city to travel around the urban environment in peace reportedly.

The clever critters have apparently learned that the sewers are safer than busy roads. According to the researchers, the gators were seen using the sewers to get from pond to pond far from humans. Maybe they haven’t heard that gator bites don’t actually contain any gator bits.

Read the original article on Southern Living