'Lethargic' Alligator Rescued From A Lake In A Brooklyn Park [Photo]

If urban legends are anything to go by, alligators once roamed NYC's murky sewage waters. Those were said to be the abandoned "pets" wealthy families first adopted as babies and later flushed down toilets once they got bigger. Many believe that the claim has no elements of truth in it, but a recent sighting on a relatively warm February morning left people scratching their heads.

The visitors of Brooklyn's Prospect Park were left in shock Sunday when an alligator was spotted in the park's lake, CNN reported. The animal was in a bad shape, Dan Kastanis, a spokesperson for the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, told the news outlet.

City officials said the gator appeared lethargic and possibly cold-shocked, as it was far from subtropical and tropical climates where its kind usually thrives.

"The animal was found very lethargic and possibly cold shocked since it is native to warm, tropical climates," Kastanis told CNN.

The 4-foot (1.2-meter) reptile was pulled from the lake around 8:30 a.m. ET by the Parks Enforcement Patrol and the Urban Park Rangers and was taken to an animal care center and then the Bronx Zoo for rehabilitation, according to Syracuse.com.

"We're grateful to our Parks Enforcement Patrol and Urban Park Rangers who snapped into action to capture and transport the alligator. Thankfully no one was harmed and the animal is being evaluated," Animal Care Centers of NYC (ACC), which provided medical care to the distressed animal, said in a statement, as per TMZ.

It is suspected that the creature, which has so far been nicknamed "Gorilla," was abandoned by its owner.

Meanwhile, AAC reminded everyone that it's illegal to dump animals in city parks.

"Parks are not suitable homes for animals not indigenous to those parks — domesticated or otherwise. In addition to the potential danger to park goers this could have caused, releasing non-indigenous animals or unwanted pets can lead to the elimination of native species and unhealthy water quality," the agency explained.

Jim Wellehan, associate professor of zoological medicine at the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine in Gainesville, examined the reptile's photograph and said the alligator was "significantly under-conditioned" and "emaciated."

Wellenhan also noted that alligators need warmer temperatures ranging between 20 and 30-degree (68 to 86 degrees Fahrenheit) celsius to thrive, and the temperature Sunday morning was no way above low-to-mid 40s Fahrenheit. However, it's unclear how cold the water was in the lake that day.