Catching a reptile in Deal Lake yesterday has earned one cop the new nickname of Crocodile Kuppler. He was hissing, snapping and biting. After catching the animal near the edge of the lake, Kuppler said he pulled it out and put a net over it.
Authorities believe it was abandoned in the area recently by someone who had kept it as a pet.
Many residents of the area who were out by the lake yesterday were aware of the animal's presence due to signs posted by authorities. Some had also read about it in the newspaper, police said. South Edgemere Drive is far from Florida's swampy Everglades, but a local woman and her grandchildren say they saw an alligator in that area of Deal Lake yesterday. The Interlaken native said she thought her grandson had probably mistaken a rock or other object for an alligator. Soon after it was spotted, though, the approximately 3-foot alligator disappeared into Deal Lake.