On Monday morning, a kayaker from Chicago made a highly unusual discovery in Lake Michigan when he paddled up to a 4-foot-long alligator. "I was just in shock," David Castaneda told The Chicago Tribune. "I thought it was fake...like a toy." Castaneda quickly called 911, which dispatched animal-control officers to rescue the gator, which had its mouth taped shut and was "definitely on borrowed time," said Rob Marmichael, curator for the Wildlife Discovery Center in Lake Forest, where the alligator is being taken. An investigation into whether the animal was abandoned will now be conducted.
Lake Michigan kayaker finds alligator off Waukegan Harbor - Lake County News-Sun