Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks officials are baffled regarding the discovery of a dead alligator found floating in an eastern Kansas lake. On Wednesday, January 27, a fisherman trying his luck at Coffey County State Lake near Burlington, Kansas found the more than five foot long reptile and immediately contacted the KDW&P.
Coffey County State Lake supplies the water necessary to operate the Wolf Creek Nuclear Plant. The water near the discharge from the plant is warm year-round, and provides excellent fishing during the winter months. It is suspected, though not known for certain, that the alligator may have been introduced by a pet owner who could no longer care for it.
It is a misdemeanor crime to introduce a non-native species into Kansas waters. The last known incident for the illegal release of an alligator in Kansas was in 2007 when a Topeka resident was charged with illegally releasing a three foot alligator into Lake Shawnee in Topeka.
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