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Next Week's Animal Watch Column, Today

Photo by Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington PostWHEN ERIN KEMP of Reston first saw a dangerous yet undersized predator coming her way, she didn't run for the nearest safe haven. Instead, she corralled her family and pets back into her house, and tried to capture it.

The creature in question: A two-and-a-half foot long alligator slinking through her yard.

As The Post's Amy Orndorff reports, alligator sightings in the suburbs aren't necessarily rare. Officials say they're usually abandoned by pet owners who discover they aren't cut out taking care of exotic animals. (Keeping alligators as pets, FYI, is also against the law in Fairfax County.) Writes Orndorff:

Patricia Rockefeller, the animal caretaker supervisor at the [Fairfax County animal] shelter, said that once people realize how dangerous they are, and how much care they require, they often dispose of them in the closest fresh water they can find. Instead, they should turn them over to the shelter, which can find the best home for them.
Does that mean this will appear in next week's Animal Watch column? This week's highlight for Fairfax County: A rabid bat that attached itself to a jogger's sock.

» "Reston Woman Wrangles an Errant Alligator Into Captivity" [WaPo]
» "Rabid Bat Scratches Jogger" [Animal Watch/WaPo]

Photo by Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post

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