On Aug. 7, a Long Island birdwatcher spotted something truly unusual: an alligator.
The gator was swimming in a freshwater pond at Cow Meadow Preserve, in the village of Freeport on Long Island. The birdwatcher took a photo, sent it to authorities, and remained on site to keep an eye on the reptile.
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation police officers soon arrived with a canoe. They paddled out to the gator and safely captured it, then transported it to a local wildlife rehabilitator licensed to care for alligators.
The gator is currently living at the rehab facility awaiting permanent relocation. An investigation is currently underway to locate the person or persons that released the animal.
It is unlawful in NY to import, possess, or sell any alligator, caiman, or crocodile, parts thereof, and products made from those animals without the proper DEC permits.
These ducklings were cleaned up after swimming in an oil spill of unknown origin in a creek in Babylon on Aug. 24.NYS DEC
The following reports are excerpted from DEC:
An oil spill of unknown origin polluted a creek in the town of Babylon on Aug. 24, dirtying three mallard ducks in the process. After wrangling the ducks with help from a nearby homeowner, an ECO and two employees of Sweetbriar Nature Center in Smithtown washed and fed the oily hen and her two ducklings. The source of the apparent spill has not yet been identified and the ducks remain at the nature center where they will continue to receive treatment until they are ready for release back to the wild.
Someone dumped a large bag of trash in ditch in the town of Arkwright on August 7, but left a receipt from a campground in Ohio that provided ECOs with a name. The person denied tossing the trash. ECOs also found a pay stub in the garbage bag with the man’s name on it from a company repairing a break wall in the city of Dunkirk, Chautauqua County. ECOs confronted him at a construction barge on Lake Erie and issued him three tickets for illegal dumping.
ECO Perkins with an injured osprey he rescued from a Suffolk County marina parking lot on July 30.NYS DEC
An injured osprey unable to fly attracted notice by flapping around a Suffolk County marina parking lot on July 30. An ECO captured the bird and transported it to a local rehabilitator for further treatment. The osprey is continuing to improve and will soon be ready for release back into the wild.
A timber rattlesnake slithered onto a porch in the town of Wawarsing on Aug. 12, blocking the homeowner from entering or leaving for fear of getting bitten by the venomous snake. An ECO later found the snake under the porch, feasting on a rabbit, and relocated the rattler, and its meal, away from the residence.
A boat began sinking in 30 feet of water on the Peconic Bay on Aug. 13. When ECOs arrived the stern was under water. They gave the boat captain a life jacket and helped him board their boat. The disabled vessel was pumped out and transported to a nearby marina.
ECO Francis with undersized porgies recently seized in a fishing compliance check on Long Island.NYS DEC
Statewide fishing compliance checks:
- Aug. 1: 19 tickets issued to 9 people in Nassau and Suffolk counties for violations including lack of marine registration, possession of undersized fish, failure to release without undue harm, taking food fish by net without a license, possession of undersized blue claw crabs, and possession of blue claw crabs in spawn (egg-bearing crabs).
- Aug. 2-3: Five tickets issued to anglers aboard a boat in Port Jefferson for possessing undersized porgy.
- Aug. 11: A Southampton angler received two tickets for keeping over the daily limit of blue crabs (50 per person) and undersized blue crabs.
- Aug. 17: An angler using a cast net on Lake Huntington in Sullivan County was issued three tickets for fishing without a freshwater fishing license, taking fish by means other than angling, and taking undersized fish. All the fish were still alive and returned to the lake unharmed.
Interested in becoming an ECO? The first step is taking the entry-level law enforcement civil service exam. Qualified candidates can apply online through Sept. 17, 2025. There is no cost as all state exam application fees are waived through December 2027. The exam is scheduled to be held in November.
Steve Featherstone covers the outdoors. Contact him at sfeatherstone@syracuse.com
If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.