‘Chance the Snapper,’ Chicago's elusive alligator, finally caught by expert trapper

Kerry Justich
·Health and Wellness Staff Writer

The famous alligator spotted in Chicago’s Humboldt Park Lagoon is finally done with his 15 minutes of fame after being caught early Tuesday morning.

The male, 5-foot-3, 30-40 pound alligator deemed “Chance the Snapper” had Chicago authorities stumped for nearly one week. But after officials called in an alligator trapper from Florida, Frank Robb, they were finally able to get a hold of the reptile at around 1:30 a.m.

Robb, the owner of Crocodilian Specialist Services in St. Augustine, stood alongside the executive director of Chicago Animal Care and Control, Kelley Grandurski, during a press conference about the capture officials confirmed that the alligator was unharmed in the process.

“It was a very blessed experience,” Robb said in front of the media and intrigued residents. “[I] saw his eyes shine and caught him with a fishing rod.”

The expert had been looking for the crocodile for nearly 36 hours straight and said that he had gotten little sleep. The alligator, however, “was exhausted, too, I’m sure,” he said. Grandurski added that the alligator was healthy upon retrieval.

Although all of the news surrounding the gator’s capture is positive, people are still upset to see Chance the Snapper leave Chicago — especially after he made an appearance at the press conference wearing a red bowtie.

One person took to the comments section of the Chicago Police Department’s Facebook page to say, “I am going to miss him. He was the best kind of news.” Others took to Twitter to take part in making a meme of the animal nicknamed after Chicago-native Chance the Rapper and to comment on his fame.

Chance the Rapper hasn’t publicly commented on the hilarious moniker. However, he did retweet a photo of the adorable gator.

As for the now-famous alligator trapper, Robb was invited to throw out the first pitch at Wrigley Field on Tuesday night.

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