People were quick to point out the difference between the photos of the alligator officials caught and the ones onlookers noticed on the loose.
An alligator spotted in upstate New York more than a week ago was reportedly caught over the weekend, but are locals in the clear?
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Some worry the original alligator that was spotted on Whitney Point was not the same reptile authorities said they captured Saturday.
The Department of Environmental Conservation reported Saturday that they had captured a three-foot-long alligator behind fairgrounds that kayakers had reported seeing throughout the week.
When they made the photos of their catch public, commenters were quick to question whether it is the same gator.
“This guy [is] much too little to be the one that was pictured,” one person said.
Another added, “The first pic that circulated from the kayaker, I didn’t notice the yellow stripes and it looked more green … Could there be two?”
Even the couple who took the original photograph agreed it appeared to be a different reptile.
“The first thing we said... was that's not the same alligator. It was just a lot smaller and it looked nothing like the first alligator we saw,” they told WBNG.
Read: 7-Foot-Long Alligator Captured Near Elementary School: 'It Was a Decent-Sized One'
Authorities, however, have dispelled suspicions that they caught a different gator.
“We really have no reason to believe that they're two different animals,” DEC officials told WBNG in a phone interview. “It is in the same body of water and it is the same size description that we've been getting reports of.”
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