Alligators in Rhode Island

Maybe I should be calm about this. Maybe I should pretend I live in Florida. But I’m a little trepid about an alligator living in Rhode Island. In reality I know it is not a big deal. I’m not going to be eaten alive by a three-foot alligator. But if I step into a muddy river or venture to , I really don’t want to worry about an alligator taking a nip at me. I don’t know what would be more upsetting; injury from an exotic animal or the wait to see a doctor in the emergency room. But I digress.

Last week a three-foot long alligator was seen in Providence. It was in the Woonasquatucket River near Atwells Avenue. Someone said that this alligator snapped at them. The Department of Environmental Management said that they will not trap it and will just leave it alone because their mandate is to protect native species. The alligator is not a native species and will die when the weather turns cold. DEM also stated that people need a permit for exotic animals. Presumably, the Providence alligator was someone's pet until it got big and the owner set it free.

I have a simple solution to the problem of people setting their exotic pets free and freaking me out as a result.

The Solution

When someone applies to have a permit for an exotic animal such as an alligator, the DEM should insert a GPS and ID number somewhere inside the animal. Where would they get the money to purchase this technology? They would raise the permit fee. This will be expensive but not for me. Exotic pets call for exotic and excessive permit fees. If this was done, they could use the GPS technology to find the alligator, catch it and fine the irresponsible pet owner who let it go.

In addition, anyone who has an exotic pet, especially a pet that can inflict damage on you, should be required by law to let neighbors know that they have such an animal. If my neighbor had a mountain lion as a pet, I would think twice about letting my kids play outside without my hawk-like eyes watching their every move. Awareness that our neighbors have an exotic pet would make us safer. And if we see a mountain lion in our backyard we can help expedite the process for getting them home by calling the neighbors instead of 911. So there is your two-pronged solution to the irresponsible pet owner issue.

Don’t think that your neighbor might have a mountain lion as a pet?  Remember Narla? Narla was a mountain lion that lived in Chepachet from 1996 until last year. Big Cat Rescue rescued Narla in January 2010 because the owner of the cat could not take care of her anymore. At least this is a good example of a pet owner not letting an exotic pet into the vast wilderness of Rhode Island and freaking me out.