Chicago spent $33,600 on hunt for alligator in city park

In this July 16, 2019 file photo, Florida alligator expert Frank Robb holds an alligator during a news conference in Chicago. It cost nearly $34,000 for the city of Chicago to wrangle a notorious alligator out of a West Side lagoon. Officials say a $2,500 fee went to Robb. He also received $2,166 for travel and lodging. Most of the cost arose from city workers putting up and removing barricades to keep people away from the lagoon.(Ashlee Rezin/Chicago Sun-Times via AP)

By Associated Press

Originally Published: August 2, 2019 11:50 p.m.

CHICAGO — The city of Chicago’s efforts to wrangle an alligator who was found living in a park lagoon this summer cost more than $33,600.

Most of the costs arose from city workers putting up and removing barricades to keep people away from the lagoon in Humboldt Park after the male reptile was first spotted there last month.

Florida trapper Frank Robb captured the 4- to 5-foot long (1.2- to 1.5-meter) alligator on July 16. Officials say a $2,500 fee went to Robb. He also received $2,166 for travel and lodging.

Investigators aren’t sure how the alligator ended up in the lagoon. He was dubbed Chance the Snapper and inspired several social media accounts. He’s now living in a sanctuary.