Urban legends have been around for decades.
Most of the time they are just folklore.
But Florida researchers confirmed one scary urban legend about alligators is true.
University of Florida researchers investigate alligators living in sewers
A common urban legend involves alligators living in sewers in places like New York City and Paris from their habitats.
The story goes that people will get alligators when they are small and get rid of them when they get too big by dumping them down a drain.
Alligators cannot survive for very long in the wintry weather in places like New York City.
But every February 9 in New York City is the unofficial holiday of Alligator in the Sewer Day.
Researchers at the University of Florida confirmed that the urban legend of alligators living in sewers is true in the Sunshine State.
A study published in Urban Naturalist found that wildlife is flourishing in the sewers underneath Gainesville, Florida where the university is located.
Researchers placed cameras in the underground sewers in Gainesville for four months and found that an entire ecosystem had developed down there.
There are 35 different animals living in the sewers including frogs, armadillos, raccoons, birds, and alligators.
This was the first time that a study revealed the extent of animal life that was living in Florida’s sewers.
Like something out of a movie
University of Florida lead researcher Alan Ivory, a doctorate student, compared the study’s findings to a classic movie and TV series.
“It’s like something out of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” Ivory told NDTV World. “We would have raccoons steal cameras every now and then. They would climb up the ladders and tear them off the manholes.”
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise featured crime-fighting mutant turtles who lived in the sewers underneath New York City.
Ivory and his team of researchers set up 39 motion-activated cameras in the sewers and storm drains around the University of Florida’s campus in 2023.
The cameras captured life in the sewers for two months.
Researchers expected to find rats and raccoons living in the sewers, but they were impressed by the diversity of wildlife that resided there.
Bats, 12 different types of birds, and seven species of reptiles were found in Gainesville’s sewers.
The bats would feast on insects they captured near manhole covers and use the sewers as “winter roosts.”
Alligators used the sewer system to travel around the city but one was caught looking for his next meal down there.
“Of the 5 sites, 4 of the sites where alligators were observed were simple culverts, and for this reason most of the alligator observations were of animals swimming from one pond to another (35 of 50 observations), thereby avoiding crossing busy roads,” the study explained.
The sewer system became an essential part of urban life for many of the animals.
“The use of an underground corridor system has the potential to increase survivorship, dispersal, and population viability of urban wildlife,” the study stated.
Researchers believe that alligators could be lurking in sewer systems throughout the state of Florida.
DeSantis Daily will keep you up-to-date on any new developments in this story.
