An alligator in Kent Lake? Police warn Kensington Metropark visitors to be on the lookout

Susan Bromley, Hometownlife.com
·2 min read
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Metroparks Police posted this sign in Kensington on Thursday, May 16, 2024, warning of a possible alligator in the lake.
Metroparks Police posted this sign in Kensington on Thursday, May 16, 2024, warning of a possible alligator in the lake.

MILFORD — An alligator may be on the loose in Kensington Metropark.

"We have been made aware of a possible alligator sighting in Kent Lake at Kensington Metropark," Danielle Mauter, spokeswoman for the Huron-Clinton Metroparks, confirmed on Thursday. "Out of an abundance of caution, and for visitor safety, we have posted signage around the lake to notify visitors of this possibility and to contact Metroparks Police if this alligator is sighted."

The signs warn: "Be aware. Possible alligator sighting in Kent Lake." They advise visitors that, if they see an alligator, they should call the Metroparks Police at 810-227-8910.

Mauter notes that "if this sighting is real, it is most likely the result of someone releasing a pet alligator into the lake," since alligators aren't native to Michigan.

Puff, a 20-year-old alligator, once escaped a Milford Township home.
Puff, a 20-year-old alligator, once escaped a Milford Township home.

"We ask visitors to use caution and not approach the animal if it is spotted, and to instead call the Metroparks Police at the number posted on signs right away," she said, adding, "We remind visitors that pets or wildlife of any kind should not be released and relocated to the Metroparks."

If an alligator is indeed on the loose in Milford, it won't be the first time.

In July 2019, a four-foot alligator named Puff escaped from the Milford Township home where he had lived with his owner for eight years. Puff, who broke his tether in the front yard and went for a stroll down Commerce Road, was recaptured by neighbors and police before he made it to a drainage ditch. A little more than a year later, he found a new home at the zoo.

It's not the first alligator sighting in Michigan this year, either. In February, an Ypsilanti woman reported she almost hit what she believed was an alligator one night while driving on US-23 southbound in Washtenaw County. She called 911, but the sighting wasn't confirmed by police.

— Contact reporter Susan Bromley at sbromley@hometownlife.com or 517-281-2412.

This article originally appeared on Hometownlife.com: Kensington Metropark police warn of alligator sighting in Kent Lake