It’s no croc: Alligator awaits new home after rescue from the streets of Boston
Nov 14, 2025
A young alligator spotted by Boston residents has now been caught by a local wildlife educator, who said he found it in the Charles River.
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So I was really surprised to hear that there was an alligator in the Charles River in Boston of all places
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A young alligator seen along the Charles River in Boston this week is now safe
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after being rescued by a local wildlife educator. Joe Kenny, the local expert who caught the gator
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says he found it Wednesday night in an area where sightings of the critter had been reported
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He went out to search for it as he feared New England temperatures would mean certain death for the cold-blooded reptile
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which typically require warm climates, preferably temperatures of more than 80 degrees
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This here is a one-year-old alligator. I rescued it last night from the Charles River in Boston
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Recently, the temperatures have been dropping into the 30s, and that's really cold for an alligator
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The reptile became an instant social media sensation as locals could not believe their eyes when they saw it slithering away
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But Kenny thought his initial search would come up empty-handed, as the critter is only a little more than a foot long
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So the first thing that went through my mind was that there's no way I'm going to find it
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It's a tiny little alligator in the Charles River. It's a big river. I went out there, it took me all of 10 minutes, maybe 15, walking along the edge of the area that it was last seen in
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And it stuck out pretty good along the muddy bottom of the river. So it was pretty easy
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I was a little shocked, though, to be honest, that I actually found it
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Wildlife officials are allowing Kenny to keep the critter until they find a more suitable home for Charles
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An investigation is now underway to see how the gator got loose in Boston
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But they suspect it was likely an exotic pet that somebody either unintentionally let loose or purposely released
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This is not the first time an alligator has shown up in Boston. Another one was spotted in the Charles River in 2010
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