Wildlife Found In West Virginia Waters

What is the habitat of Alligator mississippiensis? Well, the gator is indigenous to Florida, Louisiana, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, South Carolina, North Carolina, Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. West Virginia isn’t included on the list.

So how is it that a half-grown alligator is spotted in the Upper Mud River in Lincoln County, West Virginia? One that measures 67 inches long? This story was posted October 12, 2010, on WSAZ News.

The West Virginia Division of  Natural Resources team shot the gator and pulled it out of the water. It is quite sad that such a measure had to be taken, but this is standard procedure for unwanted alligators.

It’s quite odd to hear of a gator swimming in West Virginia waters. But after doing a Google search, it is apparent that another incident happened in August of 2009. An article appears in the Charleston Daily Mail about a gator found swimming in Big Wheeling Creek, in Moundsville, West Virginia. This gator measured approximately 30 inches long. The gator was lucky enough to be transported to an animal rescue center, and not face a firing squad.

According to the article, this wasn’t the only gator found by Marshall county. A larger gator was found in Fish Creek about a year earlier. Marshall County Animal Control Officer Jim Noice’s words can be found in The Intelligencer:

“It’s irresponsible pet owners who do this, and it’s not fair to the alligators or to the people along the creeks,” Noice said. “People have been known to throw piranhas in the river, alligators in the creeks and sometimes let snakes go, too.”

That’s nice to know…