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'Chance the Snapper' nabbed: Alligator that's been on the loose in Chicago park is finally caught

Posted at 7:30 AM, Jul 16, 2019
and last updated 2019-07-16 10:30:00-04

The alligator that somehow ended up in Chicago's Humboldt Park has finally been caught.

Chance the Snapper, as he came to be known, had been on the loose in the park for almost a week -- forcing a partial shutdown of the site.

Chicago Police Department spokesman Anthony Guglielmi told CNN Tuesday the alligator was caught sometime overnight. Police are holding a news conference at 10 a.m. (11 a.m. ET), where they'll give more details.

The city brought in St. Augustine, Florida, alligator expert Frank Robb on Sunday to help capture Chance.

State reptile specialists say the reptile is an American alligator between 4 and 5 feet long.

The city's Animal Care and Control Executive Director Kelley Gandurski said the city believes the reptile was brought to the lagoon by someone who owned it. It's illegal in Illinois to own an alligator.

Gandurski says the city deals with about one alligator-related incident every year, but it's rare to have to deal with them in the wild.

The alligator had last been seen on Thursday around 1 a.m.