May 1, 2007 8:47 am US/Pacific
Gator Gating Will Protect Visitors From Reggie
LOS ANGELES (CBS) ―
Authorities will place fencing and warning signs around Harbor City's Lake Machado to protect visitors trying to catch a glimpse of Reggie, an alligator that has resurfaced after 18 months of hiding.
A city maintenance worker spotted the elusive alligator swimming in the murky waters on Monday afternoon. News of the Reggie sighting traveled fast, and crowds gathered in hopes of spotting the 7-foot reptile.
Reggie was first spotted in the 53-acre lake at Harbor Regional Park during the summer of 2005. A number of trappers tried to catch the alligator, but their efforts were suspended over winter as he was expected to hibernate.
But Reggie dropped completely out of sight in October 2005. As months went by without another alligator being spotted, authorities thought the gator may have traveled to a nearby flood control channel or died.
Councilwoman Janice Hahn, whose 15th District includes the park, said Reggie, estimated to be 6 feet long when last seen, has grown about a foot.
"Reggie is older, Reggie is bigger and he's probably hungry, so I want to make sure that we keep the public safe," she said yesterday. "A live alligator in a public lake might be very hungry. It makes me a little nervous."
Hahn has asked rangers with the city's Department of Recreation and Parks "to provide us with 24/7 security out there, again, just to make sure that we keep small children, small dogs, away from the lakefront."
Hahn's next step includes "contacting some of the gator wrangler companies to see if they'll come back and help us capture Reggie" and "take him safely to the Los Angeles Zoo, where we hope he could live out a happy, healthy life ..."
Alligators are not native to California and it is illegal to keep them as pets. Reggie was allegedly dumped into Lake Machado by a former cop and an accomplice when he became too large for a backyard pond.
Ex-officer Todd Natow and Anthony Brewer, both from nearby San Pedro, were arrested in August 2005. Natow, an LAPD officer from 1984 to 2001, has pleaded not guilty to 14 misdemeanors stemming from the alleged possession of the alligator and the reptile's release into the lake.
Brewer pleaded no contest to a violation of the state Fish and Game Code for releasing an alligator into the lake. He was sentenced to three years probation and 45 days of Caltrans work.
Before his death in 2006, famed crocodile hunter Steve Irwin communicated via e-mail with the city's Recreation and Parks Department, providing tips on how to search for and catch Reggie.
City officials have said that they may ask Irwin's crew to finish the job.
(© 2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
