Duck escapes from alligator's clutches (From Stroud News and Journal)

Duck escapes from alligator's clutches

AN alligator has been spotted in the canal at Hardwick trying to take a bite out of a duck this week.

Bridgekeeper Richard Lacy, 56, claims to have seen the three-foot reptile pursuing the duck outside the Pilot pub last Wednesday and fellow Harwickians say there have been wild alligators in the canal for years.

"It was about 9.55am and the water was very calm," said Mr Lacy. "But then I saw an unusual disturbance in the water with a duck splashing around.

"Next thing I knew an alligator leapt out of the water and tried to catch the duck with its teeth but it got away.

"The duck would have been dinner otherwise.

"It's the first time I've ever seen it but in the three years I've been here I've heard many rumours."

Lisa Crane, owner of the Pilot, told the SNJ the beast was thought to be a South American caiman, more at home in the tropical Amazon than a Gloucestershire canal.

"There's been caiman in the canal for at least the last two years," she said.

"There have been quite a few sightings and we won't let our dogs swim in the canal in case they get attacked."

"I've caught our dog barking at the canal a few times but I don't know if it was anything to do with the alligator or not." The caiman is not the only exotic creature lurking in the murky water.

The existence of red eared terrapins in the canal is well documented. Ms Crane said a local fisherman had caught one just the other day.

Wildlife experts have said it is unlikely a caiman could survive in the wild but the recent warm weather and mild winter would certainly have acted in its favour.

"It is not impossible but it would not have survived for a long time," said Andy Webb from Gloucester Reptile Zoo. "They need warm weather."

British Waterways, which manages the canal, has an environmental officer looking into the sightings.