Caiman rescued from FDR Park in South Philadelphia

Maybe he thought the Philadelphia Flower Show was still being held at FDR Park.

Animal control officers rescued a young caiman — a reptile related to the crocodile and alligator — Sunday morning at the sprawling South Philadelphia park. Officials strongly believe the animal was an abandoned exotic pet.

Police called to FDR alerted the Animal Care and Control Team of Philadelphia, who captured the reptile. An expert from the Philadelphia Zoo helped identify the animal as a caiman, which can grow to 5 feet in length and has a lifespan of 40 years, ACCT said.

ACCT does not have the facilities to house a large reptile, so they handed the caiman off to the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, representatives from the agency said.

“This guy would not have survived very long out in the wild,” ACCT Executive Director Sasha Barnett said in a video shared with Metro. “He probably would have starved or gone after some very easy prey like somebody’s small dog.”

Barnett said ACCT does not often rescue caimans; however, the city-contracted agency takes in about 1,000 animals a year that are not dogs and cats. Last month, animal protection officers took in a horse, she added.

In New York, park workers captured an alligator in February from a lake in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park.

Barnett urged any Philadelphian who cannot care for their pet – no matter what the species – to contact ACCT, instead of dumping them in a park.

“We would much rather take this guy in and get him to the proper place, get him the proper care that he needs,” she said.