Alligator, Eels, Ducks: An Abandoned Prospect Park Pet Retrospective

PROSPECT LEFFERTS GARDENS, BROOKLYN — Anyone who tries to tell you the alligator found in Prospect Park over the weekend is the only odd creature loose in Brooklyn's backyard is selling you a real crock.

You got your elusive guinea bigs, you got your classroom duck's, you got (a Patch favorite) a big ole' bag of eels.

From four-legged friends to no-legged friends, here are some more of the strangest animal discoveries made in Prospect Park.

Nick The Guinea Pig: An 'Elusive Little Devil' (2018)

Dustin Dis, 45, and his wife, Kelso Wyeth, 31, became locals heroes when they captured the furry pet while walking their rescue dog Otto near the Cleft Ridge Arch.

"He looked small, so I assume he’s not full grown, but he’s very underweight" Dis told Patch in 2018. "I don’t think he was fed properly before being dumped in the park."

The pair named their new friend Nick Cavy in honor of the Australian musician who had his 61st birthday on Sept. 22, the same day the guinea pig was rescued. They gave Nick a bath, cleaned his ears with q-tips and fed him a vegetable dinner.

Concerned that Otto and Dis' pet cat Gloria might see Nick as a snack rather than a sibling, Dis decided to reach out to local animal rescue organizations, vets and neighbors to find him a permanent home.

""A note to people that are thinking about dumping animals," Dis said, "There are people that you can reach out to that will gladly take your animals. You don’t need to abandon them."

Mamas The 'Sweet And Smiling Pit Bull' (2018)

A "sweet and smiling" pit bull was left tied to a Prospect Park tree by the boathouse along with a note that read, "Take me home ...I'm a great dog, don't let my size scare you. I'm sweet."

Fortunately, fate connected the pup with 28-year-old Eric Maus, who told Patch he found Mamas while out walking two dogs in the park.

Maus asked for advice on a local Facebook group and received word minutes later that the Sean Casey Animal Rescue Center would make room for the abandoned pup.

"I knew I had to help her," Maus said. "That note was probably left by someone who was desperate, afraid they couldn't afford the vet bills."

"It’s really the power of community," Maus added, thanking the Brooklyn neighbors and local animal advocates who jumped in to help him rescue Mamas.

School Project Ducks (2019)

New York City also has a duck abandonment problem, Brooklyn actress and wildlife rehabilitator Mary Beth Artz told Patch in 2019.

To combat the problem, Artz set off to rescue ducks dumped at the completion of student chick-hatching projects.

The projects, commonly used to teach students about the life cycle of living creatures — might be fun for the kids in the classroom, but are oftentimes fatal for the ducks, according to Artz.

“They can’t survive out there,” said Artz. “It’s frustrating. There have been so many dumped ducks.”

Artz completed one of her successful rescues in Prospect Park in June of 2019, when she captured a white pekin and a brown companion and raised them before space opened up at a local sanctuary.

“We’re just teaching everyone animals are just disposable,” added Artz. “We really want to get the word out that these hatching projects are not humane.”

Bags Full Of Eels (2020)

The events of 2020 were already stranger than fiction before a mystery man was spotted dumping more than 100 live, wriggling eels in the lake at Prospect Park one evening in September, the Brooklyn Paper reported.

Fisherman Dominick Pabon took a video of the mystery eel man, who told the Paper he bought the eels from a store and was "rescuing" them by dumping them into the lake.

The onlookers called police, but the man was gone by the time cops arrived, according to the Paper.

The Prospect Park Alliance, which oversees the park, told the Paper that releasing animals into the park is both dangerous and against the law.

“The parks waterways and natural areas are fragile habitats, and this can disrupt these naturally occurring systems, introducing disease and other pathogens which can be harmful," alliance spokesperson Deborah Kirschner said.

"Not A Safe Place To Release Animals"

In response to the recent dumping of an alligator, Prospect Park released a statement on Twitter urging visitors to protect animals and the park.

"The Prospect Park Lake is a Brooklyn treasure + home to park wildlife, but not a safe place to release animals," the park wrote. "If you see an abandoned animal in Prospect Park, please leave the animal where it is + call New York City 311. To surrender an animal, contact New York City Animal Care Centers #BeAParkChampion."