N. Ind. anglers find dead alligator in logjam

ENGLISH LAKE, Ind. (AP) — Wildlife officials say an alligator found dead in a northern Indiana logjam may have been a pet that was released illegally.

A man and his father were fishing Sunday on the Kankakee River in Starke County when they spotted the alligator’s tail in a logjam. One of the men then used a net to pull the 4-foot-7-inch-long alligator into their boat two miles downstream from the English Lake public access site.

Department of Natural Resources Officer Keith Wildeman said the alligator, which had its mouth taped shut, may have been a pet that was released illegally. He said alligators cannot survive Indiana’s winter climate, particularly with a mouth taped shut that prevents it from feeding.

Wildeman said the gator had been dead for some time and had begun to decay.