Suche
Mein Konto
Vechta in turmoil: Alligator appeared in the pond – the hunt begins!
A possible abandoned alligator is being sought in Vechta. Experts examine a rainwater retention basin and use live traps.
Vechta in turmoil: Alligator appeared in the pond – the hunt begins!
An extraordinary find is causing a stir in Vechta: an alligator that may have been abandoned not only causes amazement, but also worried faces in the city. On Friday, a young man discovered the reptile in a rainwater retention pond and filmed it, which brought authorities to the scene. The city administration confirmed the authenticity of the video and the search for the alligator began on Saturday, but so far without success.
The approximately 80 to 100 centimeter long young animal, which according to experts probably comes from illegal breeding, is hiding from people, which doesn't make rescue any easier. As a precaution, a barrier was set up in the area around the rain retention basin on Schweriner Strasse. Two drone flights on Saturday failed to locate the animal and the search continues.
Search operation and capture attempts
The Vechta police and experts are urgently trying to catch the alligator with a special live trap equipped with a dead rat as bait. If that plan fails, the city will consider diverting water from the retention pond to capture the animal. Despite the worrying situation, the all-clear is given: city spokespeople emphasize that the alligator poses no danger to people or pets.
This situation sheds light on the dark side of the booming exotic pet market. Reptiles in particular, such as snakes and lizards, are in high demand and thus change the behavior of owners. In the case of the alligator, it is very likely that it was kept illegally, which causes problems for many exotic animals. According to the WWF, many of these animals are at risk from the black market because they are often kept in miserable conditions and have to be transported over long distances. Therefore, it is not surprising that many of them do not survive.
If the alligator had still been in a legal herd at the time, there would have been reports of a missing animal. The meaning of species protection and responsibility towards exotic pets are being put to the test here.
The search continues, and the eyes of the Vechta public are excited to see what happens next. It remains to be seen whether the team that looks after the reptile can offer it a new home or whether the alligator will continue to wreak havoc in the northern German idyll.
For more information and current updates, you can follow the coverage on mz.de and ndr.de track. The offers a deeper insight into the problem of the exotic trade WWF.