Here’s a list of things one may expect to see while visiting a Michigan nature park.
Deer, fox, hawks, eagles, ducks, raccoons, and maybe, if you’re very lucky (or perhaps very unlucky), a wolf.
But here’s one thing you’d never in a million years think you’d see.
Alligators.
Those are only down south in the swamps of Florida, Louisiana, Georgia, all those humid tropical places, right?
Not so fast, because the Whitehouse Nature Center of Albion College in southern Michigan closed its gates this weekend for a full-fledged alligator hunt.
According to MLive, two credible alligator sightings in the Kalamazoo River which runs through Albion College’s campus and nature center forced a shut down and search for the out of place creature.
The school posted this on their Facebook Page:
“Over the weekend, Albion College received two independent sightings of a possible alligator in the Kalamazoo River at the Whitehouse Nature Center.
The College is working directly with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and other local agencies to resolve the situation as safely and quickly as possible.
While there has been no confirmation of an alligator after multiple searches, Albion College is taking every precaution to ensure the safety of the campus and the surrounding community.
As a result, the Whitehouse Nature Center will remain closed until further notice.”
Having lived in Florida for the past 4 years, it’s pretty funny that an entire park shuts down when one measly alligator is spotted, but hey, I guess we all can’t be brave enough to catch these things in a trash can…
Anyway, the search continued throughout the entire weekend with no luck, forcing the park to reopen yesterday with warning signs posted to let people know of the potential danger, asking them to proceed with an “abundance of caution”.
Now, I know these things are dangerous.
Hell, just a few weeks ago some poor soul got killed by one on a South Carolina golf course, so I get being careful.
But you see one 4-to-5-foot gator and an entire park has to shut down? Seems a bit over the top for me.
On second thought, it’s pretty much the reverse scenario of when some southern town gets half an inch of snow and calls off school and work for the entire week. The Michiganders always have quite the laugh about this, so now it’s their turn to feel the chuckles.
I hope they’re able to find and relocate the alligator to a safe place and everyone can go back about their daily lives.
Now, if you excuse me, I’m going to mud-wrestle a gator during my lunch break.
It’s really a good workout, you should try it sometime.
