BY JANICE MORSE
The Cincinnati Enquirer
LIBERTY TOWNSHIP -- Gator madness is multiplying in Butler County.
A Liberty Township man told police an alligator, about 5 feet long -- with babies -- has been hanging out in his yard for about two weeks, Butler County Sheriff's Capt. G. Michael Grimes said Wednesday.
The sighting, reported Tuesday, was in the Gregory Creek area near the Great Miami River, several miles south of the Ohio 73 bridge.
Two recent gator sightings were reported in the same area, Capt. Grimes said.
All three sightings, he said, have been near wastewater-treatment plants that would release warmer water into the river, possibly creating a more hospitable temperature for the cold-blooded creatures.
"To me it's quite possible" that the gators exist, Capt. Grimes said.
The sheriff's office is waiting until deputies see an alligator themselves before taking action.
Gator wrestling "is something we're not trained to do -- and we don't care to do," he said. "We'll get a crew of experienced people to capture this beast and take it to a place where it can live out its life instead of being turned into a purse or a pair of boots."
